Training for the Job
by Desaix
Summary: NaruSaku. Summary removed due to too many complaints.
1. Vol 1 Chapter 1

Training for the Job

A Naruto Fanfic by David A. Tatum

Insert your favorite standard fanfic disclaimer here...

Author's Notes\Chronology Notes:

This is a Naruto\Sakura fanfic. If you don't like that, tough. There is zero yaoi in here. If you want to write that, fine, but don't try and insist that the yaoi is cannon when it isn't (as has happened on a few earlier non-Naruto fanfics I've written). Also, Sasuke's something of a villain -- get over it. He may redeem himself at some point (and will in this fic), but don't expect him to be a good guy without something happening to redeem him.

I don't remember which volume number of the manga is which (and this is mostly manga-based), so you'll have to forgive me if I reveal spoilers without proper notice. I will say that this fic is internally consistent with the manga as of the current chapter (265, IIRC).

It does not start there, however. Rather, it starts with the period of Naruto's hospitalization following the fight with Sasuke at the waterfall. The first volume (for this is planned as a multi-volume fic; Vol. 1 might work better as a prequel to the series, but I'm not planning on doing it that way) is Ino-centric, and takes place while Gaara is still in Konoha following the end of the mission. The second volume will be short, covering the 2.5 'missing' years in the storyline, and will focus on Naruto and Sakura as they train. The third volume will take place AFTER the mission in the current manga, with the following assumptions about its conclusion: Everyone from Konoha survives, Itachi survives, and no-one meets Sasuke or Orochimaru during the encounter. Essentially, things end up mostly status-quo (although the survival of the Sand and any of the Akatsuki other than Itachi is unimportant). Volume 4 will take place some time after Vol. 3 (how long after depends on how much of the storyline of Vol. 3 takes out of the one year it is supposed to actually cover). An epilog will take place set shortly after Vol. 4.

I am very hesitant about starting another very long fic like this one now, as I am really too busy to give it (or any of my older fanfics) the attention it deserves, but this idea will not go away. Don't be surprised if I spend ages between updates, however -- I've been known, on some fanfics, to go more than a year between chapters. Sometimes, though, I'll write five chapters in five days. Depends on how much spare time I've got and how much motivation I have to work on this piece when I do have that spare time.

This fic, like all my other fics, is a single draft fic -- meaning I will likely not go back and fix anything (not even to spellcheck, sometimes). So, if you want to make a critique, try to keep your points to things which may be corrected in the future (i.e., tell me if you think I need to explain something more for it to make sense, and maybe I'll work out how to write out that explanation in the text).

I do not intend to change my overall plot for this fic, even if the manga later proves the storyline to be impossible. However, I may decide to take any new jutsus revealed in the upcoming manga chapters rather then struggle to figure out a 'believable' ninja jutsu to give to certain characters. Or I may not, we'll see.

Well, now that that's out of the way...

VOLUME ONE: Ino's Mission

Note: Normally, I avoid honorifics entirely when working on anime fanfiction. For this volume alone, however, they may be important, so I suppose I'll have to use them. I may not for future volumes, however.

Chapter 1

Ino smiled daintily as she strode through the halls of the hospital on her way to visit Chouji. In truth, she felt she had a lot to celebrate: Chouji was moved from the intensive care ward down to observation, now well out of danger from his nearly suicidal fight with the Sound ninja, the weather was nice, and her parents had given her a PAID holiday from her job in the flower shop to visit her teammate and celebrate his recovery.

In point of fact, she hated that job at the flower shop. She'd give anything to be rid of it... but she had no choice. As a ninja, even as a genin, she and her team were second-raters, lacking the muscle for most of the jobs Konoha was contracted to do. Their skill was information gathering, not battle, and most information-gathering missions were assigned to the chuunin-rank and above. In fact, with as little work as Ino's team got, they were practically part-timers when it came to her career as a ninja. The flower shop job was about the only thing she could do to build up enough savings to eventually move away from home.

Actually, Ino wasn't sure she wanted to move out. Her parents were great, she was in a good neighborhood, and really there was nothing for her to complain about. Maybe if she didn't respect her mom and dad so much, it would be a bit harder living at home, but she practically hero-worshipped her mom and dad. They treated her well... and paid her well, given that they were the owners of the flower shop and might had demanded she work for nothing. When she got old enough to start having boys over for... well, things her parents might not approve of, then maybe it would be time to move out. Not until then, however.

Regardless, she was happy. Sure, Sasuke was gone (and what a loss that was!), but there were plenty of fish in the sea. She'd never been certain the boy was catchable, anyway. Maybe, when she was done visiting Chouji, she'd spend the rest of the day boy-gazing; it was never too early to start looking, after all.

All thoughts of boys and romance, however, flew out of her head the moment she rounded the corner. There, standing in her path, arms crossed and little to no expression on his face, stood the worst nightmare of anyone who had been to the preliminary chuunin exam last time around -- Gaara of the sand, the one who had nearly crippled Lee for life, and who apparently might have destroyed Konoha all on his own if Sasuke hadn't stopped him.

"Eep!" she cried, jumping back and nearly falling over her own feet in shock.

For an expressionless face, Gaara did a good job of showing his amusement at her folly. "You," he mused. "Are you the mindwalker?"

"Er, huh?" Ino stammered. He was actually talking to her? Asking her a question? That... was a good thing, though. Wasn't it? After all, if he was asking her questions, he wouldn't be killing her with his sand, would he?

"Are you," he repeated, letting no inflection enter his voice yet still somehow relaying his contempt. "The mindwalker? I saw you in the chuunin exam, after all. I know you can transfer your mind into another. Can you also walk in them, as your father has said?"

Ino's eyes widened. Gaara had spoken to her father about her? Why? "Well... yes, sort of. I'm still a novice with the technique, though -- I need the person to be asleep, probably drugged unconscious if they might resist. If you've spoken to my father, you know that -- he's the one who's been teaching me. And he is much better at it then I am."

Gaara nodded slowly. "I requested a mindwalker from your hokage, for a special mission. I offered your father pay approximating an A-P assignment, and he turned me down. The hokage recommended you."

An A-P rate mission? That was the highest possible mission available, with a guaranteed 50 commission due to the 'P' designation -- the designation saying that there is little likelyhood for survival of the ninja taking the assignment. The only higher-paying missions were A-S or S-S class missions, because those were 100 commissions... as they were definite suicide missions. On a class A mission alone, the usual 20 commission would be almost a years worth of the usual D-class missions she was usually assigned. The P designation... was definitely worrisome, however.

"The hokage recommended ME? For a A-P mission? But... I'm just a genin! I'm not supposed to do anything more dangerous then a C-class mission, and those only rarely!" Ino protested.

She flinched as Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I know. This IS a C-class mission. However, because your father has refused, I am offering the pay of an A-P class if you are willing to take it."

Ino swallowed. That much pay... dear Lord! Why had her father refused it, especially if the danger was no greater then a C-class mission? She'd heard of ninja being scammed by people paying only for C-class missions when they really should have hired A or B-class assignments -- Sakura told her she had been involved in such a case, once -- but never someone OVER-paying.

"I... I dunno. I might consider it, I suppose," she mused, relaxing a bit as Gaara seemed willing to let her live if she rejected it. "I'd need to know more details, though. I want to know why my father rejected it."

"Why your father rejected it is classified, by the orders of the Third Hokage," Gaara noted. "You will learn why only if you accept the mission, and even then it must all be kept quiet. As for more details... well, the Hokage figured you might want more information. She gave me this briefing packet for you. You are forbidden to discuss this with your parents, although you may talk with others if you feel they can be trusted." Gaara turned to leave. "I will be returning to the Sand in one weeks time. The mission must be completed by then. If you want the final mission details, I will be waiting in recovery room 238."

Ino shivered once he turned the corner, still uncomfortable in the presence of that... well, she wasn't sure what the boy was. However, a class A-P mission was a class A-P mission, after all -- she certainly would not be turning that down if she thought she could do it.

"So," she muttered to herself. "Let's see what this packet holds..."

She broke the seal, finding a small mission brief (which she skipped for the moment), a second seal on a letter directly from the Hokage (curious, that), and a set of medical records. She checked the name on the medical records -- obviously, that was the target of the mission.

"Uzumaki... Naruto. Naruto? EH?"

* * *

Haruno Sakura sighed, staring out the window of her bedroom. Sasuke was gone, Naruto had been sent to the hospital for far longer then she ever remembered him being in before, and the training Tsunade-sama had promised her was being delayed. She couldn't fault the reason for the delay -- she was too busy at the hospital to do anything, still helping Neji and Chouji to recover fully. Apparently, she actually had to operate on Naruto, for some reason, and preparation for that had taken a lot of time. Sakura didn't understand why -- Naruto was heavily bandaged, true, but he was acting his normal self as he sat in the hospital room. And she had yet to hear just how he'd been so heavily injured -- just that he was unable to retrieve Sasuke because of those injuries. 

The doorbell to her house rang, but she thought nothing of it. Tsunade said the surgery would be today, so she wouldn't be stopping by. Kakashi had been sent off on another jounin-only mission. Naruto, of course, was unlikely to stop by... unless he escaped from the hospital, though that was unlikely considering he was under 24-hour watch after the last time he escaped. Sasuke was... gone. Outside of those people, who else would be stopping by to see her?

"Sakura! Ino is here to see you!" was the answer, called up to her by her mother.

She blinked. She hadn't seen the blond girl since the funeral of the Third, so her unexpected presence was a definite surprise. "Send her up, mom! I'll talk to her in here!"

It didn't take long for a very hesitant Ino to come through her door, closing it behind her. Sakura wasn't dressed -- she was still in her nightgown and robe, despite it being past lunchtime. Ino, on the other hand, looked ready to go out on a mission... and was carrying some official-looking documents, as well. Combined with the other girl's oddly demure behavior, Sakura felt a puzzle welling up inside her. What was Ino doing?

"Hello... uh, Sakura-san," Ino said, very hesitantly. The honorific was surprisingly formal, especially from someone who usually called her 'forehead girl,' but not more surprising then her next words. "I need your help, but you can't tell anyone else about what we're going to discuss right now."

Sakura blinked, but nodded. "Certainly, Ino," she said, gesturing to her bed. "Have a seat."

Ino slowly walked over to the bed, looking quite confused, as Sakura locked the door, pulled the sound-proof curtains across the windows, and did the other little things she had been trained to do as a ninja to minimalize an outside party's ability to listen in on their conversation. Finally done, she pulled a chair out from under her desk over to the bed and sat down facing the other girl.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," Ino said. "I... I've been offered a mission. I'm told it's a C-rank mission, but I'll be offered a class A-P's commission for it. I want to accept it, but... well, there are some things not making much sense about it. I was hoping you could shed some light on the subject."

Sakura's eyes widened. "A class A-P commission for a C-rank mission? I know C-rank are supposed to be tough at our level, but they're certainly not beyond our abilities. Why in the world are they offering so much money, and why are you considering turning them down?"

"I'm not going to turn it down," Ino sighed. "But I want to be... better prepared."

Sakura grinned -- a shadow of her former smile, to be sure, but a bit of humor returning to her life was sure to be a good thing. "Ah, are you finally learning that, Ino-pig?"

Ino didn't respond to the insult, instead merely sorting through the papers she held. "I need your help, Sakura-san, because my mission is to do a mindwalk through someone you know. I'd like your insight into a few... peculiarities I've been reading here."

"Someone I know?" Sakura blinked. "Who?"

"Naruto," Ino stated firmly. "The teammate of yours who's currently in the hospital. There are two people who want me to find something out from him, and I wanted to figure out why."

"Naruto?" Sakura replied incredulously. "Why would anyone want to go through his mind? I mean, he can be really sweet and all, but he's an idiot; what kind of knowledge does he possess which would create a mission through his mind that Hokage-sama would approve?"

"Hokage-sama is the client," Ino sighed. "One of them, anyway. The other is Gaara of the Sand."

"GAARA?" Sakura gasped. "That... murdering bastard? Is he after revenge, or what?"

Ino blinked. "Revenge? What do you mean, revenge? What did Naruto ever do to Gaara?"

"You don't know?" Sakura asked. "Naruto is the one who beat Gaara during the Sand invasion."

"Eh!" Ino exclaimed. "I thought that was Sasuke-kun?"

"I thought it was Sasuke-k-kun," she choked. Wincing away the tears to avoid a complete breakdown, she shook her head. "I thought it was Sasuke as well, but he was the one who told me... Naruto beat Gaara. And he did it to save me... although I admit I don't know the details."

Ino looked down at the notes in her hand, nodding. "Well, that explains something. But I don't think Gaara intends any harm to Naruto -- he seems to want to understand him, yes, but not harm him. I think... I think Gaara respects him."

Sakura thought about that for a moment. "Well... I guess that's possible. I know he's turned people with dark hearts around, before -- just look at Neji, for example. If hokage-sama agreed to the mission, she must have thought it was safe. Speaking of which, what does she want you to do in your mindwalk?"

"Get the true story of what happened with Naruto, back there," Ino sighed. "She thinks he lied on the report -- he claims he never actually entered combat. Said he 'jumped off a cliff to meet with Sasuke and missed, merely taking out his campsite.' However, that much is definitely false -- Kakashi could feel the chakra from a battle from miles away."

Sakura winced. Naruto was a terrible liar, she knew that. Still, what was he trying to do? So he lost to Sasuke -- big deal. No-one outside of a jounin really stood a real chance against someone with the sharingen, after all -- at least, that was what she'd always heard. It was nothing to be embarrassed about -- he wouldn't lose his silly dream to become Hokage because of that.

"I could tell that was a lie just by looking at him," Sakura sighed. "He doesn't look like he fell off a cliff -- he's not THAT hurt."

Ino blinked. "Not that hurt? Dear lord, girl -- what do you think 'not that hurt' is?"

She shrugged. "Hey, he acts like he isn't hurt -- I suppose there might be something I can't see, since they're operating on him and he's been wrapped up like a mummy since his return, but it can't be serious." Seeing Ino's expression, she suddenly had her doubts. "Can it?"

"Medical report, right here," Ino announced, waving a piece of paper. "Let me quote. 'Chakra pathways to arms and legs strained to point of inoperability -- no chakra can be used, including emerging bloodline abilities, either by him or on him for next two weeks.' I never knew he had a bloodline ability before this. Do you know what it is?"

Sakura hesitated. "I... he never said anything. I suppose I've noticed that he has a nearly unlimited amount of chakra, some of which manifests itself in a different color then normal chakra. I think he tends to heal much faster then usual, too. I don't know much more than that, though."

"Yeah, that coincides with the next part of this report. 'Apparent chidori attack on his right lung shattered rib cage and left shards scattered throughout pulmonary system. Enhanced healing abilities caused instantaneous rebuilding of lungs, but shrapnel must be removed surgically. Also, rib cage must be rebroken and reset properly.' Chidori... that's, uh, Sasuke's attack... right?"

Sakura gaped at Ino. "A... chidori to the right lung? And... and Sasuke almost certainly is the one who did it. I... why? Why did Sasuke do that?"

"Maybe I'll find that out when I go," Ino sighed. "There's more -- chakra burns, scarring which may or may not ever go away, other, older injuries which also healed before they were ever properly cared for. Damn, I wish I knew what to expect."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I wasn't the first person asked," Ino explained. "That's why this is such a high-paying job. My father turned it down, and so apparently did every other adult who has my ability. I'm told the reason why is 'classified.' I was hoping you might have some notion?"

"No," Sakura said, shaking her head. "I don't know anything about it. He trained with Jiraiya, one of the legendary sannin, for a few months -- they were both on the mission to retrieve Tsunade, if you recall -- and that may have something to do with it. I just don't know, though."

"You aren't any help at all," Ino sighed, standing up to leave. "But I suppose I'd better do it, anyway. Naruto's in surgery, now -- if I want to try and get this done, I should do it while he's still unconscious from the anesthesia. Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"Any time," Sakura agreed. Then hesitated. "By the way... what does Gaara actually want you to look for?"

Ino's eyes quirked. "That's an odd one, too. He said... he wanted to see what Naruto's childhood was like."

Sakura nodded, lost in thought, as her long-time friend and rival left. Apparently, she missed a lot where Naruto was concerned. Just what else had she missed in her time with him? And just what the hell happened between him and Sasuke at that waterfall, anyway?

* * *

Ino stood outside the operating room as Tsunade and a pair of assistants left. "Well, that's over with. I think, with the anesthesia, he'll be out until tomorrow morning... though with Naruto it's always hard to tell. So, are you going to take the job?" 

Ino smiled slightly. "A-P money for C-rate trouble? Why wouldn't I take the job?"

Tsunade winced, but nodded. "Yes, of course. I... I think it would be best if I go in with you. Also, I want you to report directly to me, and not Gaara, when you're done. I'll relay the data he's requesting, myself."

"Wait, why did my family refuse the mission?" Ino asked.

"I cannot tell you," Tsunade answered. "But you'll find out while you're in there, I'm sure."

Ino deflated. She'd hoped for at least a little background, but it didn't matter. Beggers could not be choosers. "Okay," she answered. "In that case... let's get this started."


	2. Chapter 2

Volume I

Chapter 2

Note: It's been a while since I posted to I hadn't realized how badly they've screwed up the ability to punctuate summaries. Ack! I'll fix the summary when I have time so that the required pause is seen after 'belong.' I almost failed to catch the need to add scene breaks post-upload, as well, and I'm still getting used to the new system -- if I notice such a missing break, or if you do, that is one thing I will go back and fix, despite my 'one-draft' notice in the authors notes. Oh, and I will reiterate that this is a NarutoSakura pairing. Ino is not going to be Naruto's romantic partner, no matter how much some people will beg for it. (Nor is Hinato, nor any other character). (Now, whether or not Ino WISHES to be Naruto's 'romantic partner' is another story, but she is not going to be) Now, on to the story:

To say Ino was apalled would be an understatement. One of the earliest memories Naruto had was of having rocks thrown at him because he brought a girl -- one she recognized as a very young TenTen -- a ball she'd lost over a fence. Screams of "Stay away from her, you monster!" shocked her -- just why were people so angry at him? She could feel the same confusing coming from Naruto, as he recieved similar treatment from many people she saw as she explored his childhood. Her own parents -- people she looked up to as being the nicest people in the world -- were stone throwers as well.

He'd cried a lot as a child, but apparently showed some talent in taijutsu during the elementary school martial arts festivals -- which really were the selection exams for the Ninja Academy. He won entry at the age of seven, and he had been so excited. Finally, someone liked something about him! Finally, there was hope that someone might not throw stones at him just for existing! Finally...

Naruto, Ino realized, had a rude shock when he discovered on the first day of class that children often learned things from their parents. The Ninja Academy was a two year program, and most first-years were ten years old. Those first-years had learned that Naruto was nothing to be tolerated, something to be shunned and -- if he got too close -- hurt.

Through it all, he endured. Somehow, the phrase 'never give up' entered his mind, and he never did give up. However, that philosophy made little difference in how people treated him.

One day, after his teacher -- the one he had before Iruka-sensei -- physically threw him out of the building (from the second floor) because he'd raised his hand to say that the person next to him had stolen his textbook, he ran off crying. His 'don't give up' mantra was still coursing threw his head -- Ino could hear it, repeating itself time and time again -- but that didn't stop him from the need for emotional release.

He found himself in a park -- on a beautiful day, Ino noted -- and was stopped. An elderly man in a funny hat had grabbed him. An elderly man he'd seen before only in the stone faces on the monuments around town. He didn't know anything about the man, though it was obvious to Ino who it was, but the man had asked him why he was crying and tried to comfort him.

For one, shining moment, Naruto thought that maybe he'd found someone who cared about him. "Why?" He had asked, crying. "Why do you care about me? Everyone else hates me! I'm supposed to be hated, aren't I?"

Ino felt heartbroken at that cry, but the old man had just sighed. "Well, I'm the hokage after all. It's my job to put my life on the line, so that everyone can be content in life. And if anyone needs help to be content, Naruto-chan, it's you."

Naruto had sniffled, thinking this meant the only reason the old man had helped him was because it was his job. He'd encountered that type of person, before -- the people who gave him his apartment (where he had no supervision or care of any kind) and the few pennies a day he had to buy food with, for example. But then he noticed, as he walked with the old man through the garden, another person who was in tears. The hokage didn't try to help her, as he'd helped him. That made him wonder.

"Why aren't you helping her?" he'd asked. "After all, she certainly doesn't seem content in life!"

"No hokage -- no human being alive or dead -- can make everyone happy all of the time," the old man explained. "It is my job just to help those in most need."

"Well, I'm fine now," Naruto had lied. He wasn't fine, but the girl looked as if she felt worse then he did at the moment. "So go help her."

Again, the old man sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know how to help that one. I've tried to make her happy, but her friends all tease her and nothing an old man like me can do or say will help her out of that rut. She needs to find help from somewhere else -- a good hokage knows when to let others do what he cannot."

"I'd find a way to help her, if I were hokage!" Naruto argued. "So you'd better do it to, or... or..."

The Hokage was amused. "Or what, Naruto-chan?"

"Or I'll become hokage and do it for you!" he declared, finally.

The Hokage looked down at him with an odd smile, as if he'd heard those words before. "It's a long, hard journey to become hokage. It requires training, and patience. The hokage must master over a thousand ninja techniques, and earn the respect and recognition of everyone in all of Konoha. A hokage must know and understand the eight principles that are the cornerstones of all knowledge of the shinobi: Virtue, Justice, Ceremony, Wisdom, Loyalty, Faithfulness, Prudence, and Filial Piety. Wanting it isn't all it takes -- the hokage is the greatest shinobi in town, and everybody has the highest respect for the name of hokage."

Indeed, hearing all of what was required to be a hokage, Naruto did find himself respecting the old man. He realized there would be no short cuts -- and he wouldn't have time to help the little girl who was crying over there if he wanted to become hokage. But he wanted to help that girl -- no-one should be crying like that! Only he had to cry like that, and that was how he felt about it. Everyone hated him for a reason, and that reason had to be so that no-one else would have to be sad. That was what he'd always told himself, and why he'd always refused to give up. This, though, was hard.

"Then I'll become even greater then the hokage! I'll become the greatest hokage ever!" He turned to see the crying pink-haired girl, and the blond Ino realized with a start was herself who was approaching her to comfort her, and swore an oath. "And you, pink-haired girl, you I will make sure is the happiest of all, so that I can make up for not helping you in this moment!"

And so Naruto returned to the ninja school, and stuck it out. However, his teachers didn't understand about his goal of becoming hokage -- they all hated him, and threw things at him, and refused to help him at all. He never recovered his textbook, and so fell way behind his classmates. His taijutsu -- the taijutsu he was so proud of for winning him entry into the academy -- suffered, as no-one would spar with him or tell him what to do. So, he tried training on his own... but training on your own was rarely very good without at least someone to judge yourself against.

Somehow, he'd managed to scrape by the first year of his Ninja Academy days without flunking completely, but then he stalled. The textbook he never was able to replace continued to haunt him, as teachers wouldn't explain anything and not having any book made it impossible to figure out what to do without their help. So, he did the only training he could remember from his first year, just to try to keep up: he did training to boost his stamina and chakra reserves for his ninjitsu, and continued his lone taijutsu practice, adding some shuriken practice with that. He didn't understand the concept of the shuriken, though, so progress was very slow in that area, and the fact that there were almost a dozen different types of shuriken which all required different methods of throwing didn't help.

It was as he spent these two years building his chakra reserves that Ino saw how powerful Naruto truly was. And he did, in a way, find some taijutsu practice partners after all -- he would cut class (as he wasn't learning anything anyway -- he could maybe figure out how to perform a henge from the lectures he'd heard, but it looked awful compared to what it should look like; he'd also tried the replacement technique, and it seemed he was successful, but... well, as it relied on a person's henge talent, he never really did a good job on that either) and go look for that pink-haired girl whose name he now knew was Sakura. He couldn't do much for her -- after all, while it was starting to get through his head that he wasn't supposed to be hated, people just did anyway, he still didn't feel like approaching her. He was definitely developing a crush on Sakura, though -- Ino could feel it through her mental connection. In fact, it was a bit more of a crush, despite the fact he was so young.

The one thing he could do for her, however, was take out the people who'd continuously pick on Sakura. He wasn't the best fighter ever, but he was just barely shinobi-level... which meant he was far above most of the bullies who tended to pick on girls like Sakura. She remembered, now, that Sakura had decided to try for the ninja academy largely because the bullies had stopped bothering her when a 'ninja' had beaten them all up. Both she and Ino had assumed the 'ninja' was Uchiha Sasuke, the genius ninja who had only been held back from graduating because of some 'family' problem, or something like that. The details were hushed up pretty quick, but Sasuke was definitely the boy every girl wanted as their savior back then.

How foolish girls like her and Sakura could be at that age, Ino realized.

Things didn't get better for Naruto until people his own age showed up in class. They took his failures as just the antics of a class clown, and he played up on it to get them to help him. Iruka was now his sensei, and he actually seemed to care a little about Naruto, but by now the boy was so jaded that he couldn't trust the teacher even enough to ask for a replacement textbook.

Instead, he used his status as class clown to make a few... well, he didn't think of them as friends, since they all insulted him and picked on him for being an 'idiot,' but perhaps 'running buddies' was the right word. His devotion to Sakura had actually earned him a chance to talk to someone who held him no malice -- her own teammate, Shikamaru. One of the running buddies alongside Kiba and Chouji.

"Why do you keep throwing yourself at that girl?" Shikamaru had said. "Girls are so troublesome, just like the women they become."

"I want to make her happy," Naruto explained. "I want to see her smile, and have fun, and be happy. I'd like it if she went out with me, too -- I think I could make her even happier if she'd agree to go on a date with me, you know? But as long as she was happy, I'd be happy."

"Feh. Whatever," Shikamaru snorted. "So how much of your class clowning is really just joking around, and how much is you really being bad?"

Naruto felt trapped. He could only cover himself by pretending to be the class clown -- he couldn't afford to be thought of as being really that bad! But... he didn't have a choice, if he wanted to learn. He had to admit he was bad.

"I... well, I've never learned any of the techniques. The teachers won't help me."

Shikamaru grimmaced at that. "How troublesome. What about your textbook?"

"It was stolen from me my first year, and none of my teachers will let me replace it," Naruto explained.

"Geez! You are a mess, aren't you? Well, here -- at least let me show you how to do the henge properly!"

Of course, Naruto only used that technique to improve his status as a class clown, using it to create the 'sexy no jutsu' that really startled Iruka when he first saw it.

Iruka was definitely trying to reach him, but Naruto couldn't see it; wouldn't even tell him about the missing textbook, because the last teacher he mentioned that to also threw him out of the building (from the third floor, this time). He did, however, turn his reputation as a class clown into a learning experience. You can't exactly beat up people to get them to laugh at you, so his one talent -- taijutsu -- continued to suffer. You can, however, use pranks as an excuse for learning how to escape, and hide, and camouflage yourself. Or to use the replacement technique when caught. Or to explain why he wanted a bunch of ninja to chase him to help improve his speed and these evasion skills...

It wasn't until he'd vandalized the Hokage Monument that Iruka finally broke through to him, by promising to buy him some ramen. It was the first time Naruto would have been rewarded for anything he did -- even for cleaning up his messes -- and so he recognized the man as his first friend. In point of fact, Shikamaru was probably more deserving of the title, but he wasn't exactly sure of the other boys feelings on the subject as he never really seemed interested in anything Naruto wanted to do.

Then she saw the incident which changed Naruto's life forever -- where he finally learned why everyone hated him.

It astounded Ino to see that he could trash a chuunin before he'd even officially graduated from the academy, but he had. The amount of chakra used to make all of the kage bushins (a technique he had somehow blocked her from memorizing for herself) would have astounded her, at any other moment, but that wasn't even in sight of the more remarkable revelation.

Naruto carried inside him the Kyuubi. The nine-tailed kitsune of legend that had killed the Fourth and nearly destroyed Konoha almost fourteen-years beforehand (well, twelve years beforehand, from the perspective of Naruto's memories). That was the 'emerging bloodline limit' mentioned in the medical reports. That was the source of the red chakra. That was why everyone -- even her parents -- despised him, shunned him, threw rocks at him as a little boy...

And Ino was ashamed. For the first time ever, she was ashamed of her parents, and that... hurt. How could they treat such an innocent little boy like that, just because he'd SAVED THEIR LIVES as a baby? Didn't they think about that?

Her anger caused her to skip a track in Naruto's memories, but she caught enough of his past for Gaara's request... and now understood it more than ever. She watched the battle with Gaara, herself, just to confirm her beliefs... that Gaara wanted to know how Naruto had been raised just like him, and didn't go on that killing rampage.

Then she turned to the battle at the waterfall... and winced. She felt it when Sasuke impaled him with his chidori. She could feel Naruto's chakra literally burning himself as he struggled to use that much more power he needed to beat the boy.

And then she realized why Naruto had lied in his report. He wasn't trying to cover up the fact that he'd been beaten, or even that he and Sasuke had fought.

He was trying to cover up the fact that, to keep the tears out of Sakura's eyes, he hadn't thrown the deathblow he'd needed to win the fight. Instead, with the last slash of his kyuubi-powered claws as rasengen and chidori clashed for power, he decided to leave the message that he could have won.

By scratching Sasuke's forehead protector.

* * *

"Ino?" Tsunade's concerned eyes appeared in front of her as she slowly regained consciousness. "Are you okay, Ino?"

"Yeah," she answered groggily. "I... I'll write you that report. It... I can't put it into words right now."

"Just answer me one question," Tsunade asked. "Why did Naruto lie?"

Ino puzzled that over in her own mind. Why did he lie? The answer was easy to think of, really -- he couldn't stand Sakura's tears at the thought of Sasuke's death, and so he resigned himself to being killed by the boy he thought of as his best friend and best rival. He was ashamed of having lived without having succeeded, and that was what he was truly trying to deal with.

So, she summed it up as best she could. "I think it's survivor's guilt."

"What does that mean?" Tsunade asked, incredulous.

"I'll send you my report," Ino answered. "I think it'll answer... all of your questions."

* * *

The only people Ino MIGHT have been willing to talk to, on the way home, were those people who hadn't treated Naruto like toxic waste all his life. That included Shikamaru, Iruka, Kakashi, Gai, Lee, Kiba, and possibly even Sakura. After all, the one thing she could see from Naruto's memories -- Sakura never really seemed to hate him for being him, just for being an idiot. That, he could live with. He was proud to be able to do what he did as an idiot (although Ino was having second thoughts as to whether that was a proper description for the boy) and if that irritated Sakura, he'd been okay with that. She got to release her anger and frustration out on him, and so he goaded her into it by clowning around so much... but, whenever Sakura pulled her head out of Sasuke's ass long enough to notice him, she was actually quite nice to Naruto. Even Ino remembered the few times she'd seen Sakura and Naruto together when one of them had to fight -- Sakura protected him during the second part of the chuunin exam and cheered him on in the preliminaries and first round of the third part. That, and some of the scrambled flashes from the 'skipped tracks' she's missed in Naruto's memory showed Sakura prominantly, often in a good light... except when alongside Sasuke.

For once, she really hated that Uchiha boy.

She retreated to her room the moment she got home, storming upstairs and slamming the door. When called to dinner, she refused to come down. Instead, she claimed she was ill, and used the time to write the report for Tsunade.

Ino tried to avoid people for days after turning in her report, including her parents. She started becoming a regular at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, one of the few businesses in the town which had ever treated Naruto with respect. During the time she was isolating herself from everyone, Ino thought. She thought about Naruto's life, and what it might have been that allowed him to remain sane. She thought about herself, remembering how she thought the easiest person to fight in the chuunin exam would have been Naruto... and wondered if maybe she'd been one of the problems he'd had to deal with. She hoped not.

She couldn't avoid people forever, however. She did have to get back to her life, and go back to work in the flower shop. And she had to face her parents some time. She figured the best time was at dinner... and the best time to confront them with her new knowledge would be after dinner.

* * *

Tsunade sat in the office as Gaara continued reading the censored report she had allowed him to see. The complete report contained things so classified that even most trusted Konoha ninjas shouldn't be allowed to see it, so a foriegn ninja couldn't see the thing unedited. She suspected Gaara would be able to read between the lines for what she cut out, though, where it mattered to him.

"And he refuses to give up, eh?" the sand ninja muses. "Interesting."

"Naruto is a very interesting boy, that much is certain," Tsunade agreed, stretching. Perhaps it was just because she hadn't been around during the first invasion, when Gaara was her enemy, but she lacked the instinctual fear most of her Konoha comrades felt in his presence. She could sense an evil power in him, yes, but he seemed to have it under control... much like Naruto, himself, kept an evil power under his control. Although, with Naruto, she could never feel that evil power... even when it manifested itself visibly. The report of his battle with Sasuke, however, left her wondering if maybe the kyuubi's power would have felt evil to those nearby.

"I have enough information, here," Gaara sighed, standing up and returning the report to Tsunade. "Thank you, and thank the mindwalker who did this for me. It appears he fails to lose himself, because he has a goal in mind. The goal to become hokage is not merely a childish dream, as many think, but is a desire to justify the suffering he has undergone... much as I once believed my own justification for existence was to kill everyone other than myself."

Tsunade, for the first time, felt a little unnerved by the sand ninja she had summoned for help. "Er..."

"His justification for existence is certainly more noble then my old one. And it helps me know what I must do to replace that old one." Gaara strode out of the room. At the door, he paused. "When next we meet, I will address you as Hokage-dono."

With that, he left.

It took Tsunade a while to realize it, but in the end she knew that she'd just seen the creation of the new Kazekage in her office that moment.

* * *

One more chapter to go in Volume One (it's a short one, and Vol. 2 is even shorter as planned). Then we move on past the Ino-centric moments into the lives of the slightly more relevant characters. A note about the -dono honorific -- as used in Naruto (-dono is an archaic honorific rarely used in modern language, but Naruto is a quasi-modern world so the archaic form doesn't quite fit in it), -dono appears to refer to an 'equal who I strongly respect like I would a superior,' like from one kage to another (for political reasons). I intend to use 'dono' again in the next chapter, with roughly the same meaning but applied for NON-political reasons. I think you'll understand when you see it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Volume I

Chapter 3

Notes: Just for the curious, last chapter may wind up being Gaara's last appearance in this fic (in person). I say 'may,' because I decided to leave the fate of his continued existance in the hands of the manga – if he survives the current story arc, I'm going to let him show up again in volume 4. If he doesn't, well... then he's dead as of Volume 3, so he won't be making an appearance. I mention this because it is the ONLY major even I have planned which may still be effected by the new manga with regards to this fic. (minor events, such as certain people gaining or losing certain fighting techniques, I may figure out a way to work into the story after all. However, I have two subplot ideas for Vol. 4, one which would take place if Gaara was alive... and the other if he was dead. Both subplots allow for the same conclusion and niether could co-exist with the other, so I figured I'd put his fate in Kishimoto's hands.) Now, on with the story.

Ino realized, as she quietly pushed the food around her dinner plate, that she had definitely lost something when she went inside Naruto's head. She'd lost the respect and pride she held in her parents -- her parents, who seemed so kind and decent, had treated the poor boy as bad as some of the worst of his tormentors. She was actually ashamed of them, for once. _Ignorance may be bliss,_ she thought, _but I think I'm a better person for it, now that I know. It still hurts, though._

"Honey?" her mother said, as soft-spoken and kindly as usual. There was no hint, from that voice, of her being one of the rock-throwers who tormented Naruto. "Are you feeling okay?"

Ino contemplated that question for a moment, drawing the attention of her father as well. "Ino-chan?" he said.

"I don't know," Ino admitted, finally. "I... feel as if my whole world has been turned upside down, and I don't know what's going on."

Her parents looked at each other in silent communication. It hurt to see how caring they were of her, knowing the things she now did. She still loved them, but they and just about everyone else in Konoha had taken a deep drop in her esteem. She needed time to come to terms with it all, but she knew she didn't have that time.

"What happened?" Her father asked, sounding quite protective of her.

Ino sighed, stirring her food around again. "What would you say if you found out someone you thought was the happiest person in the world had lead such a hard life that, at one time, he believed his entire reason for existing was, and I quote, 'so that others can hate me so much they don't have to hate anyone else or be sad any more?' How would you react?"

That stopped both her parents cold. "That... how horrible!" her mother exclaimed. "Who is it? What happened to them?"

Her father, however, had his own suspicions raised. In a dangerous, wary voice, he said, "Yes, who was it? And just how did you find this out?"

Ino glared at her father, knowing he knew exactly who it was. "It was..." She paused, uncertain quite how to address this situation. She needed to explain just what she felt, and in such a way that it let her parents know how serious she was. "It was Naruto-dono."

The honorific gave both parents pause. "He is not to be discussed in this house, young lady," her father snapped.

"Are you dating that boy?" Her mother asked, instead.

Ino choked on bitter laughter. "Me? Dating him? I wish I stood a shot, now that I know him better, but I don't. His heart is set on someone else... and I don't think he'd give up on her, even if she were dead or married to another. He is absolutely devoted, and I just wish I could get someone that devoted in me." She paused. "And father, I know you probably know already, but... I took the mission you refused."

Her mother looked genuinely confused. "What mission? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, it was simple enough," Ino explained acidly. "A mission rated c-class in difficulty, but paying A-P rates? I'd be a fool to pass it up. Funny that my _father_ passed it up, isn't it? I never thought of him as a fool, after all. Are you a fool, daddy, or is there another excuse for you turning down that job?"

"Ino!" her mother protested. "Don't talk to your father like that!"

Narrowing her eyes at her mother, Ino snapped, "Or what? You'll throw rocks at me like you do at Naruto?" At the shocked look her mother gave her, Ino nodded. "See, the mission was to go through Naruto's childhood memories and see just how the hell he stayed sane, instead of turning into someone who just wanted to kill us all like Gaara did. Surprise, surprise – I look through his memories and find out that, well, my parents were throwing stones at him when he was five years old. And for what reason? Why, because he was unwittingly saving all our lives from the kyuubi, that's why! Certainly a good enough reason for ostracizing a child who had no knowledge of why he was being shunned, and hated, by every adult and child in a city like Konoha, which prides itself on treating people fairly, and granting mercy where it is warranted, and so forth. What a great lesson for future generations!"

"You... you don't know what you're talking about," her father stammered. "You didn't see the kyuubi... you don't know what it was like living with the knowledge that the goddamned creature which had killed half of your friends and family was left alive, and was walking around your town. You don't know what--"

"Naruto _isn't _the kyuubi, father," Ino snapped. "That's something you should have figured out years ago and never did."

"That _monster_ should have been killed the moment the Fourth died!"

Ino gaped at her parents, then finally recovered. Closing her mouth – and her eyes – she slowly stood up from the table. "If you really feel he's such a monster, father, then I suppose nothing I can say will change your mind. Not even the fact that he's gone toe to toe with Orochimaru and a crazed Uchiha Sasuke, not even the fact that he's saved all of our lives when Gaara attacked, because he was the only one who could stand up to a _real _monster. Not even the fact that he's been favored by the Third and the Fifth hokage, and Jiraiya of the legendary sannin. Not even the fact that I'm fairly certain he _will _obtain his goal of being hokage one day, because after having seen just how he's struggled through life and come out as he has now I'm never going to underestimate him again. So go ahead, think of Naruto as a monster." She turned and headed towards her room. "But now that I know who you really are, I'm not going to be staying under the same roof as you. I'm taking my A-P rank commission and leaving. Good bye."

With that final statement, she stormed off. Her parents looked at each other in shock, both thinking the same thing.

_Why is she so angry at us... just for protecting her from that monster?_

* * *

Ino didn't go far. After all, even though she packed all of her possessions already and was carrying her travel gear and pack with her, she didn't have anywhere to go once leaving her house. So, she went just a couple doors down... to Sakura's house. 

_She's Naruto's teammate,_ Ino thought. _Her parents have never, to my knowledge, protested against the two of them working together, so obviously they don't treat him like most of the rest of this town does. I certainly didn't recognize them as one of the rock-throwers, that's for sure. Sakura herself has worked with him, and he loves her. I think I could stand to stay with them until I can find my own place... if they'll let me._

So, taking a deep and nervous breath, and holding the four bags of clothes she'd brought with her from her house, she knocked on the door hoping for a kind welcome.

"Just a minute," Sakura's mother called, her voice muffled by the door. She sounded sweet... although Ino was still well aware of how certain people who may appear kind might not be when they are confronted by something they don't understand. Hopefully, however, Haruno-san was really as nice as she remembered.

For just a moment, Ino wondered if maybe she was underpaid for her mission through Naruto's mind. If she didn't find some place to recover from all the shocks to her system, soon, she'd go crazy. Now, she was imagining everyone she remembered as 'nice' as a cruel tormentor of innocent five year old boys. Naruto seemed willing to forgive the village of Konoha... she had to learn to do the same.

Ino spent the minute waiting for Sakura's mother nervously contemplating her newfound paranoia, wondering if maybe she was taking her defense of Naruto too far. She did still love her parents -- after all, they weren't the only people to treat Naruto that way. Sure, the boy didn't deserve it, but... she wasn't Naruto, herself, and Naruto didn't seem to mind. Should she really be taking offense to this extreme for him when even he didn't?

Her thoughts were broken, however, when the door finally opened. "Oh, Ino-chan!" Sakura's mother cried, her own pink hair bouncing in front of her face. Ino usually would wonder at how, with bloodline abilities like the sharingan and the byakugan running around the village, the Haruno clan had developed instead the bloodline trait of unnaturally pink hair. Now, however, she was too disturbed about other things to even think about it... and apparently it showed. "What's wrong, dear?"

"I... I left home, Haruno-san. I can't stand to live in the same house as my parents right now. Can I... can I stay here until I find somewhere else to live?"

The middle-aged Haruno woman's eyes were sympathetic, but she didn't answer right away. "Come in, come in, dear. Bring your things. We'll talk about it and see what we can do, shall we?"

"Thank you, Haruno-san," Ino said, stepping inside.

"Just set your things down, there. I haven't said yes, yet, mind -- I'd like to talk with you about all this, first."

Ino sighed. Of course she would want to know why she'd left home -- while ninjas were allowed to leave their parent or guardian and live on their own from the time they enter the academy, it was still a rare occurance for someone with two living parents to move out before they turn twenty. And so, she'd have to talk about the town's treatment of Naruto, and how that had lead to her needing some time and space away from everyone to deal with it all. And Sakura's mother was an adult who lived in Konoha when the Kyuubi had attacked, so of course she would be unable to understand Ino's fierce determination to avoid those attacking Naruto. After all, she might not actively attack Naruto, and might be willing to allow him to work with her daughter, but nothing said she liked the boy at all. And so she'd just be sent back to her parents... where Ino was starting to realize she couldn't stay without losing her sanity.

She finally realized why it meant so much to her -- because of her mindwalk, she now felt as if the town had been treating _her_ that way. It would take some time to become just 'Ino' again, instead of this odd fusion of Ino and Naruto's psyches and history. As of right now, she thought of herself as 'Naruto' as much as she did as 'Ino.' Her father, while teaching her the technique, had warned that something like this just might happen, and the way to deal with it. She needed to meditate away from whatever would cause her 'Naruto' psyche stress (such as her parents, for example) until she'd finally managed to isolate the 'Naruto' parts of her into a small corner of her brain. Apparently, if these 'isolated' psyches were harmful enough, there was a way to use them offensively -- a sort of genjutsu technique, from what she'd been told -- but she'd never gotten around to learning that part of it. She'd need her father to teach her... and at the moment, she wasn't speaking with her father. Being around him, in fact, would be harmful for her... and so it looked like she'd have to find somewhere in the wooded areas of Konoha to camp in, since she wouldn't be able to go back home once she was thrown out of the Haruno home, as well.

When offered a seat in the living room, Ino collapsed into it. She needed to relax, but she somehow doubted she would get any relief here.

"Why do you look so down, dear?" Sakura's mother asked. "I said I haven't said yes yet. I didn't say I said no. Now, tell me, just why can't you stay with your parents, anyway?"

"I had a mission," Ino sighed. "I can't say much about it, but... I got to look at the childhood life of Naruto with my mindwalking technique." She paused, looking down. "Haruno-san, just what do you think of Naruto?"

There was a very long pause before she heard a big sigh. "I suppose you learned Konoha's secret about that boy, right?"

"Yeah," Ino nodded. She had a pretty good idea that sigh meant this woman was no different from any of the others, and hated Naruto because of the kyuubi, too. Perhaps staying in this house was a bad idea, after all.

"Well, the kyuubi hurt a lot of people," Sakura's mother explained. "Many people were afraid of Naruto, and still are. Your parents are some of those people."

"They threw stones at him!" Ino protested angrilly, tears in her eyes. "And even when I told them some of what I saw, they still called him a monster! I... I can't deal with it."

"Let me guess -- you're having problems with your psyche because of the mindwalking, right? I remember when your father had a hard time dealing with what he'd retrieved from the head of an insane daimyo he had to assassinate, back during the war against the Rock. Your parent's anger towards Naruto can't be helping you."

Ino nodded, sniffling. "Yeah. But if you hate him, too, then maybe this isn't a very good place for me to be, either."

The Haruno woman cocked her head at Ino. "Who said I hate him? I never said that. I actually kind of like the kid."

Ino blinked, looking up. "You... you do?"

"Well, I didn't at first," she explained. "I felt sorry for him, though. I didn't know if he was really the kyuubi or not, but I knew that the way he was being treated was wrong. He never let himself look sad, though, except whenever he saw a parent showing love to their own children. I started to notice that he and the Third were constantly talking, though, several years ago. I asked the Third why he was spending so much time with an outcast, and he said, 'That boy will have my job, one day. It'll be a long, hard path, but he'll do it. He just needs someone to take an interest in training him, and he'll thrive.' He apparently was having problems with his teachers at school, and the hokage was trying to find a teacher who would actually teach him. I quickly realized just why that boy was so hyperactive... and why he was so fiercely protective of my daughter. I couldn't believe the 'kyuubi boy' was going around, beating up the people who were bullying Sakura, but the Third told me his pledge to become the hokage was inspired because he saw her crying in the gardens one day."

Ino's jaw dropped. "You _knew_ that Naruto was the 'ninja' who was beating up the bullies? We both thought it was Sasuke!"

That inspired a snort from the Haruno woman. "The Uchiha brat? Hardly. I never understood what you girls saw in him. I suppose he must look cute at your age, but I know enough about the Uchihas to know that they follow one of two paths -- they either become great protectors, or dark murderers. Insanity runs in that bloodline, I'm afraid. And Sasuke was heading down the darker path, that was easy enough to see..."

"But everyone -- and I don't just mean us girls -- praised Sasuke! He was supposed to be a brilliant ninja, top in his class, with a tragic past but a loyal heart!"

"Well, yes, most people would say that. But most people never worked alongside them in the police, like I did before I quit to become a mother." Sakura's mother exclaimed. "I was sort of hoping that, if he and Sakura worked together long enough, she'd see what he was really like... but no, simply because he was one of the 'great Uchihas,' my daughter committed herself without even noticing how he really acted and who he really was. But no, now he's defected and Sakura's heartbroken."

"So... you didn't like Sasuke being with Sakura's team? But..." Ino was confused. Very confused. "Then... what do you think of her and Naruto working together?"

"Safe. If there is one person in this world who can keep my daughter alive when things get dangerous, it would be someone like him," she proclaimed. "I think he truly loves her... and the desire to protect someone you love can be a powerful weapon in dangerous times."

"He does," Ino agreed, remembering Naruto's emotions. "So much so that he couldn't kill Sasuke because he knew that would distress her, even though it almost cost him his own life."

"What!"

"Oops!" Ino gasped. "I... I'm not supposed to have said that."

"What happened? You might as well say -- you've already broken the secret."

Ino sighed. "An inch higher, and Sasuke loses his scalp and dies. An inch lower, and Sasuke's face is torn off. Naruto-dono controlled his last punch so that all it would do was scratch Sasuke's forehead protector, using the last of his strength to do it. He was hoping it would shock him to his senses, because he couldn't kill Sasuke -- Sakura made him promise that he'd bring him back, and he couldn't do that if he killed him."

"Sakura made him promise? And he failed?" The Haruno woman got up and started pacing. "This... isn't good. He's going to try again, and again, until he brings him back alive... or gets himself killed. Where is he, now?"

"Recovering from surgery," Ino explained. "The fight with Sasuke was... brutal. I felt the arm piercing my own lung, my ribs shattering, my hands burning with chakra, my back snapping into the rocks behind me... oh, god!"

She broke down into tears, but Sakura's mother rushed to her side to take care of her. "Don't worry, dear... everything will be alright. It'll take some time, but you'll be all right. Your father was, when he had the same problem, and you will too, in time."

When Ino had finally cried herself out, she looked up. "You see why I can't stay in my parents' house, don't you?" she asked plaintively. "I can stay here, right?"

"Yes, you _can,_" came the answer at last. "For tonight, definitely. But for the immediate future, well, dear, I've got a bit of an idea about that..."

* * *

"Naruto! You're awake!" Sakura exclaimed, entering the recovery room with the small flower she intended to use to replace the one in the vase. In point of fact, Naruto looked healthier then he had since they had brought him in. The mummy-like bandaging was gone, the chakra burns had faded away, and he was grinning as naturally as the old Naruto used to grin. If Sakura hadn't known about him having an 'emerging bloodline limit' that seemed to deal with healing, she would have been astounded... and even with that knowledge, she was still a bit surprised. 

"Better then that!" he replied, smiling at her. "I'm ready to leave. Tomorrow, I'm headed off with Jiraiya. Don't worry, Sakura-chan -- we'll get Sasuke back for you."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Uh, thank you, Naruto, but I'm not ready to go yet... and I want to be certain to go with you when you do."

"Sure! I wasn't going to head straight for him, anyway," Naruto agreed. "Jiraiya was here a while ago -- before I had the surgery, even. He said that Sasuke'll be safe for about three years or so... and then he won't be. I don't know all the details, but I gather Orochimaru wants to use him as a sort of 'container' or something. I... I couldn't beat Sasuke, so I probably can't now. But I'm going to take the next two and a half years and go off and _train..._ Jiraiya will come with me, and he'll help. And then I'll come back here... and when you're ready, we'll go rescue Sasuke. Deal?"

"You're going away?" Sakura whispered, a lump forming in her stomache at his words. "Can't you train here?"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, I'll miss everybody. But, It's... probably not safe for me to train here." He gave a cheesy fox-like grin. "I don't want to accidentally blow up Konoha training, you know? Probably wouldn't help me become hokage, would it?"

Sakura grinned slightly, hearing that silly hokage line of his. Sometimes, she actually thought he might manage it... and so she'd do what she could to help him win his dream. Hadn't she said something like that during the chuunin exam, after all?

"No, it wouldn't. But you aren't the only one who'll be training with a Sannin!" she exclaimed.

Naruto's face fell. "Yeah... Orochimaru was one, too, wasn't he? And Kabuto -- he's still there, too."

"Kabuto?" Sakura said, startled.

Naruto blinked. "Didn't I tell you? I found out only when I went to find the old hag and make her hokage, myself, but he was a spy." His eyes narrowed, flashing red briefly. "A spy, a traitor, and a lost friend. That's three enemies I have to be ready for."

"I'll help," Sakura assured him. "And I wasn't talking about Sasuke-ku... about Sasuke, either, when I said you weren't the only one training with a Sannin. I am, too! Meet the hokage's new apprentice!"

Naruto clapped his hands as she curtsied. "Wow, Sakura -- congratulations. The old bag's tough -- she might actually have something decent to teach you." He paused. "And see if she has any suggestions about what to do against those cursed seal thingies. All the badguys had them, and they were tough... and Sasuke had one, and he used it."

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, unnerved as the person appropriately nicknamed 'The Noisy Ninja' fell silent.

"Yeah," he replied, shaking his head clear of darker thoughts. "When I get back... you and me? We'll get Sasuke, together, alright?"

"Alright, Naruto," Sakura agreed, smiling gently. "We'll get him, together."

* * *

"They're going after Sasuke again, you know." 

"Yeah, I know."

"I think I've bought us some time to train them," Jiraiya sighed. "But only a couple years. You need to get that girl toughened up by then -- she's going to want to go, and she won't survive the trip as she is."

"She'll do well," Tsunade sighed. "After agreeing to train her, I sent her home with nothing more than a bunch of medical texts to read. Today, I brought her back, and she got everything I tried to teach her right on just about the first try. Even kept a fish from dying when out of the water, which was better then I could do at her age. In three months, she'll be as good as any medi-nin. In six months, I'll have her medical training approaching my level. That, alone, would put her near... what was his name? Kabuto's level. Then we'll start giving her a bit of 'punch' to go with all that medical training."

"And what am I supposed to do during all this?" Kakashi, the last member of the little conference, asked.

"You," Tsunade said, glaring at him. "You need to make up for your mistakes. It was your chidori that was punched through Naruto's lung. I admit, it was probably better that Jiraiya found Naruto and trained him instead of leaving him to you -- he was probably about the only one who could have fixed that seal -- but you really shouldn't have tried foisting him off on Ebisu-san and concentrated all your attention on Sasuke. And, by the way, did you even remember your third charge that time? You know, the one who became my apprentice? She might not have been in the tournament, but surely you might have arranged for her to have _some_ training each day."

Kakashi winced. "Yes, I know. My goal was to make Sasuke believe he could grow strong enough without turning to Orochimaru by staying here while still giving Naruto an instructor who could prepare him for the tournament, but my plans backfired when we had to go against Itachi before I was ready. I think it might have worked, if we'd only had to worry about Orochimaru, but with Itachi and the rest of Akatsuki to worry about..."

Tsunade sat back in her chair and sighed. "Yes, yes, I know. And it was probably the right decision, too, with what information you had available. I don't think anyone in Konoha knew about the Akatsuki at the time, nor about their intention to get the kyuubi. It was a critical oversight on our parts -- we should constantly be trying to locate missing nin such as Itachi and Orochimaru, and if we had then maybe we'd be in a better situation right now. Well, that's one thing we're going to have to change, once we've stabilized things here in Konoha."

"Kakashi," Jiraiya interjected, finally reminding the bickering pair of his presence. "The rumors are you've got thousands of techniques, but I've also heard that most of them were obtained by the sharingan. Do you have any original moves?"

"A few," he admitted. "Chidori was one, raikiri is another. Both lethal moves with a very similar effect. I'd just reached jounin level before I got the sharingan, after all, so I've got everything I knew which brought me up to that level. It's not enough to beat a true sharingan user, however, as Itachi taught me not too long ago."

"Learn more," Jiraiya said. "And study your own sharingan for weaknesses. Itachi is still out there, and I suspect that we'll have to deal with him again whether the kids retrieve Sasuke or not. Hell... you'll probably need to know just to fight Sasuke, by the time Orochimaru is done with him."

Kakashi sighed. "Yes, learn new moves. Got it. But I think I'd be better off learning new moves if I had to use them in battlefield situations, so... what do I do?"

There was a long pause before Jiraiya said something. "I'm taking Naruto to neutral countries. He'll be meeting a lot of Rock nin, there, and there'll be plenty of time for espionage. Perhaps it would be good for you to investigate the other kage-rated power we still are on hostile terms with."

"Good idea," Tsunade agreed. "Although I think we'll make it more official than that. Kakashi... I'm going to draft a dispatch to the Raikage, and you will be our messenger. It's been a long time since we last fought a war with the Cloud, so maybe they'd finally agree to a treaty of neutrality allowing us to share in the chuunin exam system. Then, I'd like you to take a seperate message to the Land of Waves, which I understand you're in good standing with. I have a proposal which should interest them, and just might buy us a little more time with Naruto and Sakura..."

* * *

"I'm home!" Sakura called as she came through the doorway. She almost immediately stumbled over a bag in the hallway, catching herself only because of the balance training she'd had as a ninja. "What the--" 

"In here," her mother called back. "And keep your voice down -- we have a guest."

"I can see that," Sakura muttered, dodging several unidentified bags -- and some vaguely familiar ones -- as she made her way into the kitchen. "It looks like we've got a number of guests, in fact."

"No, just the one," the elder Haruno said, seeing her daughter arrive out of the corner of her eye. "Ino-chan got into a fight with her parents and decided to move out. I decided to let her stay here for a few days until she can get settled somewhere else."

Sakura winced. "Ino? Mom, I know Ino's probably my closest girl friend at the moment, especially since we no longer have Sasuke-kun to fight over, but she and I rarely get along. We're going to be fighting like cats and dogs all the time she's staying her, I know it."

"Not if you want to eat my cooking, you won't," her mother warned. "Ino-chan said she'd told you about a mission she was about to go on?"

"Oh, yeah. She was supposed to examine some of Naruto's memories..."

"Well, she took the mission, but she's having a few problems because of it. The technique she used can be quite damaging to a person's psyche, if they aren't allowed a little time away from stressful things to recover from it, and Ino wasn't prepared for what she saw." Sakura's mother paused. "I've heard it said, once, that everyone in Konoha has had at least one personal tragedy in their lives, and everyone here has had a dark past. I think Naruto's was darker then most, however, and right now... well, Ino-chan experienced all of it in a very compressed period of time. She needs rest, and time to sort through what she saw, and she does _not_ need her best friend's petty bickering."

Sakura looked down, ashamed. "Sorry, mother. If Ino-chan needs time to rest, I'd better try and treat her nice, huh? I'll go and talk to her. Hokage-sama has had me learning to be a medi-nin for months, now, and while I lack practical experience I have read a lot of scrolls on various things. Maybe I could try applying what I learn to help her out a bit?"

"Not a bad idea, but I'd be cautious about it. Don't try anything too complicated -- you don't want to make things worse. Really, the best thing for her is time and an understanding ear, like it is with many people dealing with psychological traumas."

Sakura shrugged. "I'm not sure there's anything I can do, anyway, but it's worth a try."

"By the way, Ino-chan and I talked about something after she got here -- a way to help her get the isolation she needs. I want you to know, in case she asks you about it, that you have my permission either way."

"Uh, okay, mom," Sakura said, leaving the kitchen in the direction of the stairs. _Okay, that was a bit cryptic for mom. I wonder what this idea of hers is?_

"Sakura-chan!" Ino exclaimed as soon as she saw her. She'd been waiting in Sakura's room for her, and was glad the wait was finally over. "I guess your mother told you that I was going to stay here a while, right?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied sympathetically. "I heard your technique backfired a bit, huh?"

"Not exactly," Ino said. "I did it right, I've just got a few... side-effects common with difficult cases. Have you gone to see Naruto-dono today? How is he?"

"Naruto-_dono?_" Sakura repeated incredulously. "I've never heard anyone call him something like that, before. I did see him, though. He's better then he's been in months -- in fact, he's leaving on a multi-year training journey soon -- possibly tonight. He didn't say exactly when."

"I call him Naruto-dono because, after what I've seen, I have a hard time calling him anything else," Ino sighed.

"So you want to date him, then? Is he that interesting?" Sakura teased. A slight, unexplainable twinge raced through her stomache, though, at the thought.

"Yes, he's that interesting," Ino replied. "But there is no way he would ever date me. None. I'm not even going to try. You stand a pretty good chance, though, and if I were you I'd take it in a heartbeat."

Sakura shook her head grimly. "Sorry, but no. Naruto's sweet, and kind, and a lot stronger then I ever believed he could be... but he's not my type. He's too immature."

"I think he'll grow out of it," Ino shot back. "I wouldn't rule him out, if I were you, Sakura-chan. He is absolutely, unalterably devoted to you... and I don't think there's any chance of that changing, even if he does go away for a few years. He'd die if he really thought it would make you happier."

Sakura was trying to keep her temper in check, but she was reaching her limit. It was one thing to tease someone about a boy, it was another to just sit there and matter-of-factly state that she shouldn't 'rule him out.' Besides, remembering both his promise and the medical report Ino had read to her the other day, those words hit too close to home. She had to diffuse it, now, before she lost it and really hurt Ino -- one thing she didn't think was proper to do as an apprentice medi-nin was to traumatize the trauma patients.

"Look, when he comes back, maybe I'll think differently," she finally said. "But he needs to mature some, first."

Ino grinned. "Just give him a chance, that's all I ask."

Sakura shook her head. "Why are you so interested in all this, anyway? What did you learn from that mindwalk?" The look of horror she recieved made her wish she'd never asked that question. "I'm sorry, I--"

"Sakura, which is worse. Torture or death?"

Sakura blinked. "I... well, what kind of death?"

Ino shook her head. "Okay, maybe that's not quite the right way to put this. Sasuke's entire family was slaughtered by his own brother, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Right."

"Well, what happened after that?" Ino asked. "To Sasuke, I mean. How was he treated?"

"Well, how would you expect a boy who just lost his entire family to a horrible massacre like that to be treated?" Sakura asked incredulously. "I mean, really."

"And how do you think he would have been treated if the massacre had happened when he was still just a newborn baby?"

Sakura shook her head, unable to understand these questions. "About the same, though he probably would have been put with a foster family instead of allowed to live on his own, why?"

"Despite the fact that his brother was the one who committed the massacre?"

"Of course!" Sakura cried, starting to get angry. "Why wouldn't he?"

"Even though -- and this is what your mother told me, herself -- insanity runs in the Uchiha bloodline?"

"Sasuke would have been a baby! He should have been given a chance, at least!" By this point, Sakura was just about shouting.

"Naruto-dono wasn't," Ino stated softly, taking the wind out of the other girl's sails.

There was a long pause before Sakura even took another breath, in fact. "What?" she asked, chills running through her.

"Naruto was orphaned as a baby, after a violent massacre throughout the village," Ino explained. "Naruto, even as an infant, was involved in ending that massacre -- they needed an infant born that day for something I am forbidden from discussing with you. His sacrifice made him just about as 'risky' of a danger as, say, someone with a history of insanity running in the bloodline. So, he wasn't sent to any sort of foster home, he was shunned by just about every adult most of his life, and there were some people..."

Sakura waited patiently for Ino to continue, before noticing that she had completely brokent down. "Ino?"

"There were some people, like my parents, who threw stones at him to keep him away from their own children," Ino finished angrilly. "His first day in the ninja academy, his textbook was stolen by a classmate and when Naruto tried to let the teacher know, said teacher threw him out of a second story window for daring to say anything! None of his teachers actually taught him anything, except for Iruka-sensei... and by then Naruto was so jaded he couldn't trust him. Did you know that the only way he could learn his ninja techniques and practice them was to become a prankster? We all thought he was a wierd little screw-up too stupid to do anything other than play practical jokes, but in truth he was just being screwed over and could only learn things by playing practical jokes!"

"I... how awful!" Sakura said. "Why didn't someone do something?"

"Because no-one cared!" Ino replied. "No-one! After all, Naruto was nothing more than a 'monster,' so of course he deserved it all. Well, I take that back -- the Third seemed to like him. And apparently, so did your mother. After all, he was protecting you even before you knew him."

"Huh?" That one really confused the pink-haired girl.

"Remember your 'mystery ninja,' the one who kept fighting off your bullies? You always thought he was Sasuke... but really, given what you know about Sasuke, do you really think it was him?"

"I didn't know," Sakura admitted. "I began to doubt it, myself, after a while... but I couldn't give up on the illusion..."

Ino smirked gently. "I thought you were supposed to be a genjutsu specialist. I guess that doesn't help you see through your own illusions, huh?"

"No," Sakura agreed, sighing. "I'm not ready to give up on Sasuke, yet--"

"I am," Ino commented wryly.

"But I think maybe I've been doing a great injustice to Naruto for a very long time." Sakura paused. "Why are you ready to give up on Sasuke?"

"Let's just say experiencing what it's like to have a potential boyfriend's fist rip through your lung is enough to discourage you from wanting to take him as a boyfriend," Ino answered dryly.

There was little Sakura could say to that. After a long, awkward pause, She straightened up and decided to change the subject. "So... mom said she had a suggestion to help you come to grips with everything?"

"Oh, yeah," Ino said. "I'm not planning on staying here for long -- I'm going apartment-hunting tomorrow. But your mother doesn't think it's a good idea for me to live completely alone for a while yet. She also said she knows you're not entirely comfortable living here, because you think she 'smothers' you a bit. She admits you might be right, and thought it would be a good idea if I ask you to be my, uh, roommate."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Your roommate? You mean... my mom would allow me to move out?"

"Yeah," Ino replied, grinning.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We don't always get along so well, do we, Ino-pig?" she teased.

Ino shrugged, ignoring the insult. "Well, no. But I suspect we'll be returning more to the way we were in the old days, now that Sasuke isn't coming between us... and I understand you've got training every day with the hokage-sama from now on. We won't be together too much, I don't think -- just at breakfast and dinner sometimes."

Sakura looked pleased, then frowned. "But how can we afford it? I mean, we're both only getting a genin's salary. In your condition, I doubt you'll be able to take missions for a while, so you're going to be on half-pay. I'm going to be on half-pay, too, thanks to my being on training duty for the next few years. How in the world can we afford an apartment together that would be even half-decent?"

"We can't," Ino admitted. "But, if your mother contributes a bit -- like she said she would -- and I devote all of my savings into it, I think I might be able to buy a small, two-bedroom condominium." She grinned. "Between us, I think we can afford to pay for food and the utilities, don't you?"

"I..." Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Just how do you have that much in savings? I mean, I've got a bit saved up, but not even close to enough for something like that."

Ino grinned slightly. "Well, it's a bit surprising what a class A-P mission pays, isn't it? And your mother is contributing a savings account she was planning to use to help you buy your own place some day, anyway, so she can just about match it in your name. It'll be just enough we can afford a small condo." She paused. "Or you can just live here for the next ten years or so, when that account becomes large enough to buy your own place." Ino held out her hand. "So... what do you say?"

Sakura grinned, and took that hand. "Deal."

* * *

Notes: Well, as I said, this is the end of Vol. 1. (This chapter is also about double the normal chapter length I write, so maybe I underestimated how long this volume would be). Volume 2 will be starting when I get around to it, and should be even shorter then this one (but might not). And then the preliminaries will be out of the way, and Volumes 3-4 (which are supposed to be the _real_ story) will be clear to write. Hope you enjoy this one. 


	4. Vol 2 Chapter 1

Volume 2: Discovery and Training

Notes: Regarding the 'Chidori is the raikiri' thing... I checked and doublechecked both techniques. They look exactly alike in the manga, but seem to have different names. The manga doesn't say anything about how the two are related or not, so I had to use a different source: the anime. In the anime, the way the raikiri is 'generated' appears different from the way the chidori is 'generated.' In the end, I still wasn't sure, so I decided to make them two seperate moves with essentially identical appearance and effect. Maybe they're based on each other or there's something about them being the same which wasn't properly translated in the fansubscanlation I read or watched, I dunno, but I don't really have a plan in mind for making a significant distinction between the two, anyway, so it won't matter. If I missed something where it says they're the same technique (or not), I will concede my error... but I don't think I'll bother going back to fix it unless I decide to make a revision for some other reason. As I've said before, this is mostly a one-draft fic, so changes like that are... unlikely. In regards to a question someone e-mailed me: "If Ino isn't going to be a major character in the next volume, then what is the theme going to be?" Well, that's simple enough. Volume 2 is background and explanation -- I explain my theories as to how certain things work (such as the creation of bloodline traits and just what the hell is up in those Uchiha documents that Sasuke was seen reading but never explained) and give background data for the way the world is working in Naruto, with the backdrop of Naruto and Sakura increasing their abilities, strengths, and knowledge. Anyway, on to Volume 2 -- enjoy.

Chapter 1

_Until I get my bed over to Ino's condo, _Sakura mused, unlocking the door to her parents' house. _I'm going to continue to consider this home... however crappy it is to stay here._

"Hello, dear," her mother said before she could shout her customary greeting. "You missed dinner."

"No, I didn't," Sakura sighed. "I ate over at the condo."

"Ah," the elder Haruno woman said, guiding a kunai over a whetstone. She might be retired from the ninja life, and no longer in shape to resume her career even if she wanted to, but she continued to keep her equipment in pristene order at all times. "How's the move-in going?"

"Well, Ino got in quick," Sakura huffed. "She talked Chouji-kun into bringing his entire clan over to help set her up and refurbish a lot of the furniture. I'm not allowed to move my own bed there until next week, at the earliest. I have to say, being able to grow body parts with your chakra is a big advantage."

Not looking up from her work, Sakura's mother suggested, "You don't sound too pleased with it, though."

"I am, sort of," Sakura sighed. "It means things will go faster. It's just... well, there's the sharingan, the byakugan, the Akimichi body growth thing, Shino's bugs, and so forth. Why does everyone else get such interesting and useful bloodline limits -- or at least clan-only techniques like Ino-chan's -- and all we Harunos get is... well, pink hair?"

That broke her mother from her work long enough to have a long belly laugh. "Oh, my dear, sweet daughter. I admit, our pink hair is a bit... outrageous, but it is not the only thing we of the Haruno clan can contribute to Konoha's ninja. We do have a bloodline limit... although I do admit, it's rarely usable in even the day-to-day work of a ninja. But we have one, so I suppose it's time you learn what it is."

Sakura blinked. "We do? Why haven't you mentioned it before?"

"Because you didn't seem to need to know," came the unexpected answer. "And it's a little embarrassing, come to think of it -- a lot of people don't quite understand it if you talk to them about it, and I was afraid you'd start thinking your 'poor old mom' was going crazy for telling you."

"Mom, Shino talks to _bugs._ I don't think you can get much more crazy then that."

"You really think that's worse then, say, talking to yourself?" her mother hesitantly replied.

"Yes, I do," Sakura answered, blushing slightly.

There was a slight pause. "Oh. Maybe I should have told you about this, earlier. You have the Overlay Persona, too, don't you?"

Sakura looked at her mother, confused. "Overlay Persona? What's that?"

"Our bloodline limit, of course," her mother huffed. "Inside you, and inside me, and inside your grandfather and you uncle _and_ your cousin, there is a second 'persona,' if you will. Call it your 'Inner Sakura.' Our minds are... split, I suppose is the best word, and the extremes of our fiercer emotions are combined into a second mind. Some of us have been mistaken for split personalities, in the past, but we eventually proved that it wasn't a mental disease but rather a bloodline ability."

Sakura sighed. "I think I know what you're talking about, now. It's completely useless, isn't it? Just like the silly pink hair."

"You _could _always dye your hair, if it's giving you such problems, you know. But no, the Overlay Persona isn't... completely useless. I will admit, compared to doujutsu like the Sharingan or the Byakugan, body manipulation like the Akimichi clan, or the shadow binding techniques of the Nara clan, it does seem a bit... underpowered, but it is a help from time to time."

"How?"

The elder Haruno smiled at her daughter. "Well, for one thing, it's a natural counter to Ino-chan's family techniques."

Sakura slowly nodded. "Yeah... come to think of it, it did help in the preliminaries of the Chuunin exam. I managed a tie instead of a loss because of it."

"Well, there you go. But it isn't the only thing the Overlay Persona is good for," her mother explained. "If you're being tortured -- god forbid -- you can 'hide' information into the Overlay Persona, and you won't even be able to reveal it if you wanted to. It helps you think a little faster, can add boosts to emotion-based techniques -- not that I know any, myself, but great grandad knew a few -- and it makes it easier to break out of genjutsu. Great Grandfather used it to help overcome a crazed Uchiha with his Sharingan-based genjutsu, once, although I don't think I could have done it myself. He was the best ever with the ability, you know -- I have a few scrolls and things he wrote about training the Overlay Persona to work for you, but I was never quite able to decipher them myself. I'll let you take a look at them, though, if you want."

"Uh, sure," Sakura said, a little dazed at this unexpected bit of family history. Her great great grandfather fought against an Uchiha and won? How was that possible? The Uchiha were reputedly the most powerful ninja in Konoha, debatably stronger then even the Hyuuga clan. She would have to see if the record of that battle was in the hokage's records, next time Tsunade allowed her access. "Can it do anything else?"

"Not on its own," her mother sighed. "But that's to be expected. Most of the stronger bloodline abilities come when someone with a lesser set of abilities -- like our own -- makes a deal with the lord of an animal or insect clan -- like the Inuzuka or Aburame clans did, and accepts the power they grant the bloodline for whatever price or limitation they set. The _really_ powerful bloodlines, like the Hyuga clan, take a lesser demon like an oni and seal it inside their spouse. The resulting offspring has the oni's powers fused into whatever their original bloodline limit was. It's not often talked about, but many people believe the Uchiha clan began when a Hyuga clan member repeated the 'oni-sealing' technique with their spouse, thereby increasing the power of the technique but also weakening the mental stability of their offspring."

"Er, lesser demons?" Sakura shuddered. "I never would have guessed... but I suppose that using an oni like that is better then sealing it in a box where it will have an age to escape. But if a lesser demon makes so powerful of a bloodline ability, why has no-one tried it with a greater demon? Or have they, and the resulting bloodline doesn't work?"

"They have," was a rather sharp reply. "But no-one who has had a greater demon sealed inside of them has lived to maturity."

"Ah, the greater demons are too powerful for the person containing them?" Sakura deduced.

"Wrong. The babe who had the demon sealed inside is often ostracized and tormented by society, until they either go completely insane -- like Gaara of the Sand did, according to all the reports I've heard -- or they commit suicide."

"How awful!" Sakura cried. "How many times has this been tried?"

"Not often. There are only nine greater demons in the world, after all, and they aren't exactly easy to seal inside a person. It usually takes the sacrifice of someone's life -- usually that of a blood relative -- in order to manage it."

"I feel sorry for Gaara, now," Sakura sighed. "I understand his mother was the sacrifice, and he definitely was ostracized to the point of being driven insane. Lee-san told me, though, that Gaara changed after his battle with Naruto, and he no longer seems quite as... well, apocolyptically homocidal as before. He even saved Lee's life. Maybe some good will come of the Sand-Sound invasion, after all."

A twinkle appeared in her mother's eye. "Are you willing to test the theory of just how powerful a greater demon's bloodline would be, yourself?"

"With _Gaara?_" Sakura shuddered. "He still scares the living hell out of me."

"Well, not Gaara, then," came the laugh. "If you ever met someone else with a greater demon sealed inside, though, would you?"

Sakura paused. She could tell that disguised in that laughter was a serious question, although she had no idea what it was. Maybe her mother was intending to arrange a marriage with someone hosting a lesser oni, to boost the power of the Haruno bloodline? "Mom... I was in love with Sasuke-kun. Very much in love with him. I... it hurts, knowing that he's gone. I might be able to date again, at some point in the future, but even considering someone else right now... bothers me. I now realize Sasuke-kun is unreachable, although I still want to try one last time to bring him back to Konoha if I can, but..."

"I wasn't telling you to go out and marry another guy right away," Her mother chuckled. "I just want to know if having a greater demon sealed inside a guy would be a 'turn-off' for you."

Sakura huffed. Well, now she wasn't so sure if her mother was serious or not. After all, there weren't any other people with greater demons inside them, were there? "I guess I wouldn't rule out a guy who I liked if I found out he had something like that in him. I wouldn't go looking for it, though."

"Fair enough," her mother admitted, slapping her palm on the arm rest of her chair as she stood up. "Now, young lady, if you're willing to let someone like your father and I help you, despite our ineffective bloodline abilities, I think we can promise to help you move in tomorrow. But _only_ if you go to bed right now, young lady -- if we're going to do this, we're going to be getting up very early in the morning and going all day, and I don't want you half asleep while you leave us poor parents of yours doing all the work."

A smile lit up on Sakura's face. "Thanks, mom!" she cheered, giving her a big hug. "Good night."

"Good night, dear."

Inside her mind, the Inner Haruno-san was dancing around. "I told you she'd give that boy a chance, didn't I? Didn't I! Match made in heaven, I tell you! Hell, yeah!"

After all, Sakura was a bright girl, and she had it exactly right. Her mother was interested in boosting the power of their bloodline limit. But why go looking for an oni to stuff inside someone when you've got something much better right at hand?

* * *

"You look tired, Sakura-chan," Tsunade commented. 

"That's because I am tired," Sakura slurred, trying to talk and yawn at the same time. "My 'off-day' yesterday was spent moving into my new place. Mom and Dad were a great help, but they were even worse slave-drivers then you... um, not that you're a slave-driver or anything."

"Mm," Tsunade hummed. "That's another hour of slug summoning, for you, young lady."

Sakura winced. While she liked the idea of summoning in principle, she wasn't too enthusiastic about the slugs. In fact, she was usually a bit grossed out by slugs. Tsunade had noticed this, and amused herself by assigning her to work with slugs as punishment. "Uh, okay." She started to head to the room Tsunade had designated as her training room when she remembered something. "Can it wait a bit, though? Mom and I were talking, and there was a bit of family history I wanted to research in the archives of the Third Hokage -- at least I think it was the Third. She didn't exactly say when it happened, just that my great-great grandfather was involved."

Tsunade chuckled. "Oh, I remember him. Wanted everyone to call him 'Haruno the Great' and bragged like hell about his accomplishments. He was a decent ninja, but hardly as good as he claims. His biggest accomplishment was, as an ANBU, taking down an Uchiha who had gone crazy and killed his best friend in a quest for power. He... uh, hm. Actually, maybe it's not a good idea for you to go looking at that..."

Sakura blinked. "Why not? It's my family history, isn't it? And it was the fight with the Uchiha that I was actually interested in."

Silence answered her. Even Tsunade's ever-present aides were holding their breath, waiting for a reaction to that statement.

After a moment, the Hokage sat down in her chair and sighed. "I need a drink."

"Eh?"

"I could let you look at those files," Tsunade sighed. "They are in the Third's records. You are not allowed to look into the Uchiha Clan records, however, whatever you find. You must restrict yourself to the official documents, and go no further."

Sakura blinked. "What? But... why?"

"Because I know," Tsunade sighed. "Just what you'll want to look up."

* * *

"I don't know why they're so worried," Sakura sighed, talking to herself as she peered at ancient script on yellowing paper. The labels on the files weren't exactly clear, sometimes, and she was having a hard time figuring out how the filing system worked. "I don't even know where the Uchiha Clan records are located, so I couldn't search them even if I wanted to." 

She passed through several records, looking at the names on all of them. The white cotton gloves she was required to wear while handling the documents were starting to itch, but she was determined to find at least one file on her search before quitting for the day. A few of the documents were too faded to read, so she had to scrutinize them more in-depth then she would have liked. Finally, she found what she was looking for, in one of the more worn-looking files she'd seen.

"Haruno Kai. That's him. Ninja Registration # 057220. Date of birth, blah blah blah. Ah, here we go. Significant missions accomplished."

What followed was a list of actions her grandfather had taken during the fourty years of his career as a ninja, including references to other files describing each action in detail -- all of which, fortunately, were copied and placed into the same folder for easy reference. She was astounded to learn that there was an Uzumaki listed as his genin student at one time, and she wondered if said student was a relation of Naruto's. She never had heard of the Uzumaki Clan outside of Naruto, and considered searching for information on them when she was done sating her curiousity about her great great grandfather Kai.

Most of the entries held little or no interest for her. A few involved names or places she had encountered in her own ninja career -- apparently, team seven's little excursion to the Country of the Wave wasn't the first time Konoha had been heavily involved in the region. Most of the references took place during the wars with the Cloud and Rock ninjas, but towards the end she started finding the 'internal security' records -- his career at ANBU. She found that a number of her friends had family working alongside Kai in ANBU, including Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru, and Kiba. She found that Rock Lee's family was actually a refugee family from, surprise, surprise, the hidden village of Rock. But despite a long time searching, she saw no references to the Uchiha clan at all.

She did, however, in one of the last entries on ANBU, see something about a 'Mangekyou Sharingan.' Taking a chance, she decided to look it up. After all, the Uchiha clan were the only users of the Sharingan eye, save for Kakashi. Perhaps this 'Mangekyou Sharingan' was, as well. Their wasn't even a hint of a summary, however, and the referenced file was not included in Haruno Kai's folder -- a bizarre oversight, but one which was quickly explained as she caught sight of a page at the end of all the files.

"All references to the Mangekyou Sharingan are to be kept strictly confidential. List of users and Konoha-wide matters is available in the files on Wielders, Clan Kinjutsu, under Uchiha. All other data pertinant to the Mangekyou is to be kept by the Uchiha Clan. Under orders of Uchiha Nobu, Council Chief."

_Oh. So the Mangekyou was a banned technique. Perhaps that was why no-one wanted me to look up Great-great Grandfather Kai's battle on it. Still, I'm curious -- maybe there's some details in that Kinjutsu file._ So saying to herself -- her real self, not her Inner Sakura -- she got up and once more started looking through the files.

By this point, she'd long passed the time the hokage had initially permitted her for her search, but she couldn't stop where she was. So she'd have to work on slugs for a few more hours -- big deal! This was far more important. Plodding through the haphazard arrangement again, she discovered an entire cabinet on Wielders, Clan Kinjutsu, and shortly afterwards found the documents in question. It was a hefty file, too -- apparently, a lot of Uchiha ninja had used kinjutsu in the past.

Or rather, she discovered as she opened the file, there were a lot of Mangekyou users in the Uchiha history. Too many to deal with, in fact -- but most of them were in the very early years of the Uchiha. As time went on, the number of users dwindled significantly. Finally, in the next to last entry, she found the reference from Kai's battle.

"Mangekyou user discovered before serious signs of the insanity it breeds was discovered. Haruno Kai employed unique technique for countering mangekyou sharingan's Tsukiyomi technique, then subdues him. As mangekyou user survived capture, insanity cure was attempted and was successful, but at cost of mangekyou sharingan. All written material dealing with Haruno Kai's counter technique and the details behind insanity cure were immediately confiscated under orders of Uchiha Nobu Council Chief, and turned over to the Uchiha Clan private records."

That was it, but she still didn't understand why she was warned away from the Uchiha Clan archives. Any counter to a kinjutsu would be useful, surely, so why was she forbidden from discovering that counter? Was it just that this Uchiha Nobu had so much power, people were afraid to violate his decrees even thirty years after his death? Or was there something else to it?

Just for curiousity sake, she decided to check the final record, to see if it might shed any light on the subject.

"Uchiha Itachi, upon mastering the Mangekyou and the Tsukiyomi technique, slaughtered entire Uchiha clan save for three survivors. Uchiha Sasuke (Academy Student). Uchiha Fuma (non-blood relation). Uchiha Nabiki (non-blood relation). Itachi's current whereabouts unknown. Is believed to have joined organization known as 'Akatsuki.'"

Then, the next page was a seperate copy of the cross-referenced organization, Akatsuki.

"Nine S-Rank Missing Nin, organized together for unknown purpose. Known members include Uchiha Itachi (Konoha), Orochimaru (Konoha), and Kisame (Mist). Konoha nin currently known to be thier target include Uzumaki Naruto and possibly Uchiha Sasuke."

There was more, but Sakura stopped reading right there. "Naruto? Why the hell are they after Naruto?" Inner Sakura demanded to know. Skimming the page, the motives of Akatsuki weren't revealed... but now she was even more confused then before. She had always thought that Sasuke was the one with the deep, mysterious past full of tragedy -- something she felt was very interesting about him, since he seemed to come out of it so well. Between what she'd heard from Ino and this startling revelation, though, she was beginning to wonder whether it was Sasuke who had the interesting past... or Naruto?


	5. V2 Chapter 2

Volume 2

Chapter 2

Notes: Initially, I was planning one chapter for Sakura, then one chapter for Naruto, and then I'd move on to Volume 3. Well, I didn't cover as much as I wanted to last chapter, only going through two of the five things I had planned for her to deal with during this volume. So, I guess it'll be longer than I anticipated... which is good for you, though not for me. sigh Anyway, I suppose I'll 'alternate' chapters until I've covered everything I planned for. In answer to the 'Did Naruto leave already,' the answer is yes. Both this and the last chapter start a few weeks after the end of Volume 1, well after Naruto has left (I was trying to imply that Sakura, at least, wasn't sure if he'd still be at the hospital when she got back the next morning from Vol. 1) and after both people have had a chance to get some work done on their training. As far as 'Am I out of (series) fanfiction?' the answer is, as always, no -- I never give up on any of my fanfics... though I do tend to set them aside for years at a time when I get stuck on something. Eep. Hopefully, that won't happen here. The only fanfic series I've ever written in that I've even given up READING on at least an occasional basis is Rurouni Kenshin (I started writing before the manga ended, and I was turned off of it by how it finished up. I do plan to finish that fic, as well, someday, but I can't stand the series any more). Again, I'm not going to deal with the raikirichidori thing again (I have looked where told to look, and see nothing definitive either way, but... it doesn't matter, so I'm not going to worry about it). I think that answers all the major questions (at least, as of the point I'm writing this, which is before I've started writing on any Chapter 2 text), so I hope you'll continue to enjoy...

* * *

Naruto sat on the bed of his hotel room and glared, once more, at the freshly polished forehead protector Jiraiya had handed to him. Instead of the usual spiral leaf symbol of Konoha he was used to seeing on it, or any other hidden village symbol he was familiar with, it was completely blank. He hated it, because of what it implied: He was a homeless nin.

Unlike missing nin, who were criminals andor traitors, or the much rarer but still occasionally seen employerless nin, who were typically genin or chuunin who were released from a village because they displayed no special talent and provided too much of a drain on manpower to employ, a homeless nin was someone whose home village was destroyed while he was away (for any ninja whose village was destroyed and was present was expected to either die or be a traitor) and so he was looking for a new village to hire him. Unlike missing nin or employerless nin, a homeless nin was not faced with the disgrace typical of the other varieties of ninja. On occasion, they would form their own hidden village, typically taking in a number of other homeless and employerless nin -- a practice which was what Konoha had assumed took place with the village of Sound before it revealed itself as Orochimaru's lair.

"Why do I have to wear this, again?" Naruto asked plaintively.

"I already told you, baka," Jiraiya grumbled. "We're heading into countries often patrolled by Rock shinobi. As a Konoha ninja, they would attack us first and ask questions later. As a homeless ninja, they won't... and, in fact, they may be willing to help you train... although if they do, you will not be able to use bushin no jutsu or any varient thereof -- that would be a signature move of Konoha. No rasengan, either, although I expect you to continue practicing that move when we're not around others until you can finally get it one-handed. Having to use three hands to get it to work is a big weakness, you know."

"I know, I know," Naruto huffed, frustrated. "But why are we going to the Rock, anyway?"

"Well," his master hummed. "I would think that would be obvious. You're preparing to face Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm trying to get you ready for Uchiha Itachi."

"I know that!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes, but you need to consider what the Uchiha specialize in. They specialize in fire techniques, and are quite good at it, so you need some sort of counter for it."

"So I need to learn water techniques, right?"

"That's one option," Jiraiya agreed. "And I'll be teaching you those, as well, but that's not the best option. You need your water technique to equal the Uchiha fire technique... and you cannot do that. The Uchiha have the best fire techniques around, and there isn't a match for them anywhere in all of the water techniques that exist -- you would have to be excessively more powerful for it to even stand a chance. I think that you stand a chance of growing a little faster then Sasuke over the next few years and being a match for him, but Itachi is another story -- I couldn't even match him if I were to train in nothing but water techniques for the next several years. So, you need to think about what other techniques are available."

"Well, the elemental techniques are Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind, right?"

"There are more of them then that," Jiraiya noted, "You could include Lightning, for example, but there aren't many lightning techniques out there worth learning if you aren't specializing in that set. But those are the major ones, yes. Wind only boosts Fire's strength, so the only thing left are Earth techniques... and I can't teach you Earth techniques nearly as well as the Rock can. So, we're going to the Rock country so that _both_ of us can brush up on our Earth techniques."

Naruto sighed. "I was hoping to keep in touch with people back home with letters and postcards, but I guess if we're going into Rock country we're not going to be able to. Could I send one last letter, though, before it's too late?"

A rare smile of sympathy graced Jiraiya's face. He knew how hard a time Naruto had making friends, and what a sacrifice it was leaving them all for so long. Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah, I guess that would be all right. Just make no mention of where you are, what you're learning, or where you're going. Remember, you're a ninja -- that means you have to keep secrets, and those three things are big secrets."

"I know how to keep a secret," Naruto laughed. "It's pretty hard not to know how with my lifestyle. I only need to know that something is a secret, first -- I don't always know something's confidential when other people expect me to just guess it is from the start."

"That's why I'm telling you now," Jiraiya snorted. "But don't take too long -- the post office will close in an hour, and we're leaving before they open in the morning."

Naruto nodded. "Okay. Um... have you got any paper?"

Sighing, Jiraiya fumbled through his back to provide a couple of battered sheets of letter-sized paper and an envelope. Naruto had already pulled out a brush, and immediately started writing his usual legible but imperfect script.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!

"You'll have to let everyone know that I'm going to be unable to send letters for a while. I don't know how long -- ero-sennin won't tell me -- but it'll be a while, nonetheless. I've only got time to write this last one before I have to go, so I hope this'll get there unharmed.

"I hope you're learning a lot from the old hag. Ero-sennin says I have to 'refine' what I've already learned, whatever that means, before he'll teach me anything more complicated. Actually, I'm learning other techniques, too, but I can't say what they are. You understand, I think -- secrecy is important, after all. However, I should be ready to help you get Sasuke when I return, that much is certain.

"Sakura-chan, this is very important. Whatever you do, don't try to go after Sasuke alone. He's lost in darkness, right now, and I'm afraid of what he might do to you. That cursed seal you know about does something to him, I'm not sure what -- whatever it is seems to be driving him insane. When I found him at the waterfall, he was really creepy-looking... but then he seemed to get better for a time. Then he started going on about how I'm worth killing because I'm his 'dearest friend,' or some nonsense like that! If he wanted to kill me for being his friend, what do you think he might do to you? I think he's saveable, still, Sakura-chan -- I saw it in him, at times, and in the end he didn't kill me... but it'll take more than what I can do for him even if I get better. It'll take more then what you've got, too. Hopefully, the two of us will be enough to bring him back, though.

"I'm going to keep my promise, Sakura-chan. I don't ever want you to have to be in tears over this thing again -- I will keep it. As I said, it's the promise of a lifetime, and so even if it takes me my whole lifetime I'll still keep it. However, there's something I was thinking about a while ago. I said we only have three years to rescue Sasuke, because then Orochimaru will steal him from us forever. That's not quite true -- we have three years to save Sasuke from Orochimaru, but that doesn't mean we have to bring him back right away. If we can't convince Sasuke at first, then our only alternative is to kill Orochimaru. That, really, is what we should be training towards -- beating Orochimaru, not Sasuke. We'll have to fight him in the end, anyway.

"By the way, I've given you access to my bank account. The rent on my apartment is withdrawn automatically, but I'd like it if you took a little money out and spent it on ramen at the Ichiraku every now and then. I want them to still be in business when I get back -- the owner there is really nice, so I think you'll enjoy the place even if you don't particularly like ramen noodles. (Er, you do like ramen, though, right? If not, well, I think Kiba still enjoys it, so you can always buy him a few gift certificates or something).

"I'm almost out of time, so I'll wrap this up here, Sakura-chan. Keep up your hard work and stay safe. Remember, I'll be back before you know it, so don't go off without me!

"Yours, Naruto."

He reread it, and nodded. _It sounds better then when I speak, actually, doesn't it?_ he thought to himself, grinning. He started to fold it up and stuff it in the envelope, but it was snatched away by Jiraiya before he could. "Hey!" he cried, sucking his thumb from the papercut his letter caused.

"Oh, be quiet," Jiraiya complained. "You _are_ a ninja, aren't you? Deal with it." He took the letter and the envelope and started to leave. "Stay here -- I'll mail this out, and then I'll get started on my 'research' for the night."

Naruto fell back onto the bed and covered his ears. "I don't want to hear about it, ero-sennin! Just make sure you send my letter before you start doing any perverted stuff, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah -- I'll make sure your letter goes out," the perverted hermit snorted. "While I send out your letters, practice controlling the rasengan one-handed. You're close already, I can feel it, but I'm not teaching you any other techniques--"

"Until my rasengan is 'refined' enough, yeah, yeah -- I heard you the first time, ero-sennin."

Jiraiya shook his head. "I wish you'd stop calling me that."

A muffled grunt was all the response he got, but he could already hear the chakra building up from his rasengan practice. As much as he chastized the boy for learning slow, he was actually amazed at how quickly he took to the technique. Naruto was pretty pathetic when it came to learning basics and simple stuff, but his learning curve went up dramatically the more complicated the technique he was taught. The Fourth himself took three years to get to where Naruto -- if Jiraiya's estimate was correct -- would be by the time he got back that night, less than a year after Jiraiya first demonstrated the rasengan. Then he'd finally be able to start work on things like multiple rasengan (which the Fourth had never mastered. Jiraiya, himself, could only do two at a time, as he had when teaching Naruto the technique, but he wondered if maybe rasengan could be concentrated on the feet and 'kicked' into an opponent. It'd be interesting to try, that was for sure), odango rasengan, and other varients of the technique. He'd slow the rasengan work, though, so he could keep his promise about teaching the boy water-element techniques, and so he could try and find someone to teach him earth-element techniques as well. The Rock never taught anyone the truly advanced earth techniques, but they'd give out a few cheap, easy, and effective techniques to potential recruits, hoping to impress them by showing off what they could learn. That said, those 'cheap, effective techniques' would likely be an ideal defence to the Uchiha fire techniques. His water techniques weren't quite as well suited for it, unfortunately, but he knew of a few Naruto could try out. Water clones, for example -- which would probably be a good idea for him to learn before they encountered any Rock nin, since it would help them maintain their cover -- and the water dragon technique he'd heard Kakashi use a few times were both within Naruto's realm of possibilities. Jiraiya could do the water prison, too, himself, but he wasn't good enough at it to teach someone else -- which was okay, since he doubted Naruto would ever have the patience to use it.

Also, he intended to really drill the art of throwing shuriken into the boy. He could use them when he wanted, but his accuracy was well below what was expected out of someone with his level of skill in other areas. He'd spent part of the time Naruto was recovering in the hospital reading up on the records of his earlier missions -- including the one to the Land of Waves. He found in Kakashi's report a few instances where he was forced to concede that Naruto could actually think in battle, and his plan involving shuriken was brilliant. Kakashi's report, however, stated that Naruto's kunai was an inch off of what he assumed was the intended mark -- something which he was only lucky hadn't resulted in disaster.

_I haven't done full-time training in way too long, _Jiraiya mused to himself. _I've forgotten how to set a proper schedule. Oh, well -- it'll come back to me in time._

Making his way to the post office, he glanced around to make sure Naruto hadn't followed him. Seeing no sight of blond-haired pursuers (and not really expecting to see any, but paranoia was the perogative of any ninja), he folded up the boy's letter and stuck it in the envelope. Then, he took out his own letter and a pen. He had already written it, but he still needed to add a postscript or two and address the envelope. Still, he should check it over to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"Hokage-sama. (I still don't like calling you that, by the way, Tsunade -- I don't see why you insist on making me call you hokage, but let Naruto call you whatever he wants!)

"The cypher is on its way, in the usual place. What can be revealed without spilling secrets follows:

"Naruto's training is going well. I expect him to be able to face either Uchiha brother before we get back; he, however, seems less interested in the Uchiha then he is in being able to fight Orochimaru. Given what he knows of Sasuke's time limit, that makes sense, but I worry he is setting himself an impossible goal. He intends to drag your apprentice with him when he goes -- or rather, I think he believes she intends to go anyway, and he's going with her. Keep that in mind as you train her. Also, keep an eye on the Sound compound. As we both know, there is no telling what secrets Sasuke may divulge about our defenses. We know they managed to get a couple spies into Konoha before the Sand-Sound War, but a traitor from the house of Uchiha is likely to know certain things even we don't know, much less any theoretical spies.

"So far, no intelligence has emerged on the Akatsuki. It feels as if, with Naruto's escape a few months ago, they have chosen to hide themselves rather then continue in whatever quest they are attempting. I fear this is a bit deceptive, but I think we're safe for at least three years.

"I may not be able to communicate safely for a while. If you get a message from me, read it right away -- I think the only time I'll risk sending anything for the next few months of this 'training journey' is if I detect an eminent threat of war.

"Jiraiya."

Considering the words, he decided to scratch out a few sentences he felt were a bit too dangerous to include and then added a postscript letting Tsunade know he was including a letter for 'her apprentice' from Naruto.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he called as softly as he could, summoning not the usual great battle-toads he was accustomed to but instead a much smaller, younger one.

"Yo," Gamakichi said, waving. "Did you mean to summon me, this time, or did a babe drug you again?"

"I meant to summon you," Jiraiya sighed. "I swear, I get no respect."

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to someone who cares," the young ninja toad replied. "So, if you actually wanted me, what did you need me for?"

He showed the now-sealed envelope containing his and Naruto's letters. "I need a secure messenger. The only thing secret in the packet is encoded, but I don't want to send even coded messages through a public mailing system."

Gamakichi sighed. "I gotcha. Geeze, though -- what a stupid job. Why couldn't you use birds as messengers, like every other respectable ninja out there? Why single out me?"

"Because you need the experience," Jiraiya snorted. "That, and I have yet to see a talking bird small enough to be a messenger, and don't trust a messenger who I can't be sure understands me."

The toad puffed up proudly. "Ah, I got it. You trust me more."

"Uh, sure. That's it." If the perverted hermit sounded a little less then sincere, no-one would call him on it.

"So, where to?"

"The new hokage of Konoha, Tsunade. You remember her, right?"

"You mean the one with the big knockers? She ain't hard to forget."

"Heh, that's her all right. She didn't used to have them that big, though," Jiraiya snorted, but then a thought came to him. "The letter is for her only, but if she's not in her office you can leave it with Haruno Sakura. She's a pink-haired genin who--"

"I know her. She's the blond's, well, this," Gamakichi snickered, holding out his little webbed pinkie.

"I think the attraction is still one way at the moment," Jiraiya mused, stuffing the letters into the toad's travel pouch.

"You're kidding me!" Gamakichi exclaimed. "After that kid saved her from shukaku, she still won't go on a date with him?"

That was something Jiraiya hadn't seen in the reports. "Shukaku?"

"Well, a jinchuuriki with shukaku inside, yeah," the toad explained. "I figured a kid like that would be bragging about it up one side and down the other."

The old sannin considered that for a bit. "Well, actually... the kid never brags about what he's done, just about what he thinks he can do. I know of a number of things he's actually managed to accomplish that should have been well above his level that I never hear him talk about... but that's not important. Tell me about the battle with shukaku."

The story unfolded slowly as Gamakichi explained everything he remembered about the fight. Jiraiya grinned in satisfaction hearing how his teaching the boy summoning techniques helped him win a battle that likely prevented Konoha from being completely destroyed. When the toad was done, they parted company to each complete their own tasks -- the toad his messenger service, and Jiraiya his night of whoring. However, as Jiraiya made his way towards the brothel he had passed on his way into town, his mind was on the story he had heard.

When Naruto was forced to use a transformation technique with Gamabunta, he chose to transform into the kyubi. He had sensed that both the boy's and the kyubi's chakra were easier for Naruto to access since the last time he'd trained with him, but this was a bit concerning. He didn't think there was any chance of the kyubi escaping the seal -- he'd studied the seal, himself, and knew exactly how it worked. It would take something cataclysmic for the kyubi to break the seal, but by that point it wouldn't matter. However, if Naruto was starting to use the kyubi more and more, and become more reliant on its powers and more consciously aware of his existance, then there was a chance that Naruto might lose himself to the kyubi, if only for a short time. Which meant that he had one more thing he would have to teach the boy.

The boy needed to learn how to meditate, because it was only through meditation that he could speak to the kyubi at will. Which would be necessary, since the only safe way to end the risk of the kyubi taking Naruto over... was for Naruto to truly befriend the kyubi.


	6. V2 Chapter 3

Volume 2

Chapter 3

Notes: To answer the question (again), no. I will NOT be making this InoNaru. In the future, please stop asking. I will not bother responding to this request a third time.

* * *

Sakura rubbed her weary eyes, growing tired of reading ancient and nearly indecipherible texts on the medical applications of chakra. Somehow, when she asked to be the apprentice of the hokage, she hadn't cottoned on to the fact that most of her early work would be reading. Sakura liked to read -- that was partly how she turned out to be such an excellent student at the academy -- but the eyestrain caused by searching through page after page of faded texts, most filled with aged kanji she had only seen rarely if ever, was starting to get to her.

"I need a break," she muttered to herself. No-one heard her, of course, because the office she was in was completely empty, but it felt good to break the silence if nothing else.

She was sitting in the hokage's office -- at the hokage's desk, in fact -- because she had been given unprecedented access to texts which had been forbidden from ever leaving the hokage's offices for study. Tsunade, however, was out in the town, attending the semi-annual Hokage's Visitation to the Academy. Her guards, of course, went with her, and so did Shizune-san and all the other aides she had hired. Which had, of course, made it an ideal day for her to do textbook work, since she wasn't supposed to practice many of the techniques she was learning without someone present to supervise in an emergency. It was one thing to study on your own with most ninjitsu, but medical ninjitsu was not something to be trifled with. During the learning process, almost any medical technique could result in lethal danger for both the practitioner and the patient if any mistakes were made. Supervision cut the risk of death down to almost zero... although fortunately, it had been a moot point in Sakura's case. She had yet to make a single mistake in any of her practical sessions with medical ninjitsu.

Outside of the medical ninjitsu, she wasn't learning much, however. She was getting a little frustrated, since she didn't think medical ninjitsu would be enough to let her hold her own in the kind of fight she was expecting when she and Naruto went after Sasuke. She supposed that there might be some practical use for summoning slugs in battle, as well, but that was one thing she wasn't looking forward to practicing. She had the technique down perfectly, she just couldn't summon enough chakra to produce a slug of any reasonable size... and while she supposed a 'ninja slug' might not creep her out too much, all she was summoning so far were common, ordinary, garden-variety slugs... and those _did_ creep her out.

"Are you just talking to yourself, or did you actually sense my presence?" came a voice from behind her.

Sakura jumped, startled, but then grinned slightly at her own foolishness. "I'm always talking to myself," she said, turning around to see who was there. Her instructions were to take any messages for the hokage and inform people who visited that they shouldn't expect a response before the next day, at the earliest.

There wasn't anyone there, however -- not that she could see. She glanced around, and started to get nervous -- if someone was hiding in the hokage's office, that could mean they were an assassin, and since she now knew of their presence... Standing up, she moved into a defensive stance, glancing all around the room for any sign of motion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something flick its way onto the desk, and spun back towards it to see who the intruder was.

"Yo," an oddly-colored and fairly large frog-like... thing said to her.

"Uh," was the extent of Sakura's reply.

"Is there some reason you're preparing for battle?" it said.

Sakura's eye twitched. "What _are_ you?"

The toad frowned, then nodded in recollection. "Oh, that's right. You were unconscious for most of that battle. Hi, Sakura-chan -- I'm Gamakichi. Last I saw you, you were being held against a tree by shukaku's sand."

Sakura blinked. That meant... this toad was a witness to the battle with Gaara? But... "That still doesn't explain who you are."

With a sigh, the toad lazilly crawled (for that was his only method for moving without jumping, and he didn't want to scare the poor girl again by jumping in front of her) to the center of the desk. "Sit down," he grumbled. "I'm not an enemy, here. I'm a ninja toad, summoned by Jiraiya, one of your 'legendary sannin,' to act as a mail courrier. I wish he'd use birds, dammit -- it took me nearly two weeks to get here. By the way, you really need to patrol the forests surrounding this place more often -- I didn't find a single one of the Konoha nin out there, but I did find a large number of pretty dangerout critters blocking me from my destination, here."

Sakura blinked, then smiled and sat down to talk to him more comfortably. "Oh, so you're like Pakkun, only you're a frog instead of a dog."

Gamakichi scratched his head, revealing a few scratches on his webbed hands. "Uh, oh, him. Yeah, I'm a bit like him, only better."

"So, are you allowed to give me the messages, or are they for someone else?" Sakura asked, squinting at the toad.

"Jiraiya said I could give it to either the hokage or to you," the toad muttered. "What's with that look on your face?"

"Oh, I'm an apprentice medi-nin, and I was trying to think of something I could do for your hands," Sakura explained.

Gamakichi, in the process of removing the letter from his pouch, blushed slightly. "Oh. Thank you."

Sakura took the letter with a smile. "No problem. I might not even know anything I can try, but give me a moment -- I have to be sure it's something I've been passed to do solo, first, because I'm forbidden from trying techniques the hokage hasn't cleared me for." She smirked, then grabbed his webbed foot. "I think I know one, now. So, you were there during the fight with Gaara? I don't remember Jiraiya being at that fight."

"Who said anything about Jiraiya being there?" Gamakichi sputtered. "That would have been a mess! No, that blond kid accidentally summoned me when he was trying for Gamabunta."

Sakura snorted. Even she knew about Gamabunta -- the legendary steed of the Fourth wasn't ignored in history classes, that was for sure. Still...

"Naruto should have known better. I mean, sure, he's gotten pretty strong, but trying to summon Gamabunta is way out of his league!" she chuckled.

Gamakichi scratched the top of his head with his free hand. "Uh, but he did summon Gamabunta. Gaara left him the ultimatum of beat him, or you would die... and then that kid got tough. Don't know where he got the energy, myself, but somehow he managed to call Gamabunta into the area."

Sakura stopped what she was doing and closed her eyes in pain. _Naruto... just how badly have I ignored you? I never knew you could do something like that!_ Shaking her head, she sighed and got back to work. "Is that how he won?"

"Well, sort of," Gamakichi laughed. "That's how he managed to break that other kid out of his transformation into shukaku. The boss and I were too tired to stick around after that, though."

With a smile, Sakura released his hand. "There you go -- all done!"

The toad gave it a few trial shakes to test it out. "All right! Thanks a lot. Have you got the message?"

Sakura nodded, waving the envelope in front of her. "Yep, right here."

Gamakichi grinned. "Then my job here is done and I'll be on my way." He paused, then frowned at her. "By the way... that kid was fighting so hard for you, I was sure you were his, well," he held up his pinky. "Yet Jiraiya says you don't even give him the time of day. Don't you think the poor boy deserves a break?"

Sakura considered that for a moment. It was true that Naruto did so much for her, and she never seemed to be able to show him any appreciation for all of his hard work She sighed. "Well... I was in love with someone else at the time. I... well, I've just had my heart broken, recently, so I'm not really ready to think about that just yet. I agree, though -- he does deserve a break. I'm just not sure if I can be the one to give it to him."

The toad sighed. "Sorry -- didn't mean to bring up old wounds. See ya!" With a pop, he was gone.

Sakura sighed and looked at the envelope in her hand. It was unaddressed, but the toad had said it was either hers or the hokage's, so she figured it would be okay to open it. She pulled out several sheets of paper -- including a couple of what were obviously written in some sort of cipher -- and started looking at them. The first one was from Jiraiya to Tsunade, and while she hadn't intended to read it she caught herself skimming through it. She was a little startled, since it seemed to say to her that Naruto was giving up on Sasuke in order to fight Orochimaru. She wasn't going to hold Naruto to his 'promise of a lifetime,' if he didn't choose to keep it, but she was a bit disappointed in him.

Then she read Naruto's letter, and understood. Naruto wasn't giving up on Sasuke -- he was thinking tactically. Sasuke was in danger until Orochimaru was killed; he would rescue Sasuke, and keep his word, but it would have to wait. And he wanted her prepared to face Orochimaru, as well, which had her wondering...

_Is it even possible for me to train enough to face one of the legendary sannin?_

* * *

"Hi, Sakura-chan," Ino called in greeting from the kitchen, hearing the door open. "You're home early."

"I'm not my daughter," came the masculine reply. "I'm just dropping something off for her."

"Haruno-san!" Ino exclaimed, turning the fire cooking her oden down low so she could leave the kitchen. This was the first she'd seen of the man as she was away when Sakura moved in, and her father was a travelling merchant and hadn't been home when she was living there. "I'll take it to her room. Did she forget something?"

"No," the man refused. "I don't think that's a good idea. This is a box of the family scrolls, and its sealed against any but a Haruno opening it. I'm not certain how it works, but I think you might be hurt if you handled it wrong. Her mother sent it with me, since she was too busy to do so."

Ino nodded. "Okay, follow me then. Uh... did you hear about why I moved out?"

"And took my daughter with you?" His eyes glinted dangerously, but then he laughed. "Yeah, I heard. I suppose keeping sane is as good a reason as any. I'm not one of those people who hate Naruto -- you don't have to worry about that. I don't think quite as much of him as my wife does, though..."

Ino eyes locked on him. "What does that mean?"

The man shook his head. "I'm not supposed to say anything about it, but I'll put it this way: My wife would rather my daughter date Naruto than Sasuke -- in fact, she would be happy if her daughter dated Naruto. I'd rather she not date anyone."

Ino snorted. "Fat chance of that happening. Sakura's growing up to be a cutie, and if she gets over Sasuke then she'll be in a position to have boys eating out of her hands. I think Naruto'd be good for her, don't you?"

The Haruno man laughed. "It's not my decision any more -- you ninjas grow up too fast, so I'm not going to question it. I understand some of your clans arrange marriages and force their children into wedlock by the time they're fourteen... and I thank god I didn't marry into one of those clans!"

"I'm glad I wasn't born into one of them," Ino laughed. "They do have their reasons, however. The Hyuga 'cannot afford to let their blood be diluted,' so they try to make sure their children are married or at least committed before they're old enough to realize they have a choice. The Aburame have a hard time finding people who want to join their contract with the bugs, so they tend to adopt children to be raised as their own, and marry them into their own clan as early as possible. And so on, but I don't think I have to go on, do I?"

"The Uchiha used to, as well, before they were wiped out." A glint formed in his eyes. "They had their own reasons, but never shared them. Clan secrecy was too great, there, and I think that is what lead to their destruction."

"Huh?" Ino asked, confused.

Sakura's father just shook his head. "Never mind -- just old rumors. I must get going -- my wife is fixing dinner for me as we speak."

"Uh, okay, Haruno-san. I'll let Sakura-chan know you stopped by," Ino sighed, leading the man out the door before returning to her dinner pot. She was only back at work for a minute before she heard the door open again. "Did you forget something, Haruno-san?"

"No, I didn't forget anything. And why are you calling me Haruno-san?" A confused Sakura said, coming into the kitchen. "Smells good, whatever you're cooking."

"Oh! I thought you were your father," Ino explained. "He stopped by just a couple minutes ago to drop off some family scrolls or something for you."

"I've been expecting those," Sakura nodded, tasting the stewing liquid. "I'm sorry I missed him. Hmm... needs a touch of salt, I think."

"You like food saltier than I do," Ino complained. "Just use a salt shaker -- that's what it's there for."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first six or seven times you said it," Sakura sniped, pulling out some bowls and silverware for their dinner. "Well, today was interesting."

"I'm sure those ancient scrolls you have to read are just _fascinating_," Ino trilled sarcastically.

"Actually, they're so hard to read even I'm finding them boring," she sighed. "But while I was reading, a ninja toad showed up with messages for me and the hokage."

Ino blinked. "A ninja... _toad_?"

"Well, surely you've heard of Gamabunta, right? This is part of his, ah, clan, I suppose," Sakura explained.

"Ah. So what was the message?" Ino asked, no longer quite as surprised. Now that she thought about it, she didn't just hear of Gamabunta -- she'd seen him (and Gamakichi, and other ninja toads as well) in Naruto's memories. She wondered if it was a sign of recovery that she hadn't remembered until just then. Shrugging, she started to serve the bowls for dinner.

"Not _what_ was the message -- that was a bit interesting in itself, though I can't tell you about it -- but _who_ was it from. Naruto and his sensei sent word to me that he's going to be unable to send letters for a while."

"How many lettes has he sent you, so far?" Ino asked.

"Two or three. They all read just about the same -- 'Still training my rasengan. The master's being a pervert again. I'm bored. Talk to you later.' This was the first one where he said anything significant, however," Sakura said. Sighing, she broke her chopsticks along with Ino, and they chorused "Itadakimasu!"

"Anything you can share?" Ino asked.

"Maybe," Sakura said, stirring her stew a bit and taking a bite. "Yeah, I knew it. Needs salt. Otherwise, this oden is pretty good."

Ino clenched her fist. "Look, just use the damned salt-shaker and stop... eh?"

Sakura was laughing. "Finally! I've been trying to get a rise out of you since your little mindwalk mishap. Hi, Ino-pig. It's been a while. I've missed you."

Ino gaped at her for a moment before joining in on the laughter. "Glad to be back, forehead girl! Now, let me know about this letter."

"Well... let's just say he and I are preparing for the same enemy," Sakura replied cautiously, "And it's not who we first thought it would be. The person we're going up against is way out of our league, I'm afraid, so our only chance is teamwork. And I'm very worried our teamwork is sorely lacking."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked, confused. "Don't forget -- I've seen every mission you've been on. I know just how tough some of the things you guys have done together has been."

"Then try to analyze those memories a little better," Sakura sighed. "Instead of ever helping Naruto work on teamwork, despite his begging me to on occasion, I never did. Now, I doubt we ever would have _really_ worked on teamwork if I agreed -- I think he was trying to sneak in a date by calling it 'training,' just like I was trying to do for Sasuke -- but I might have at least managed to learn something while he tried to keep up the pretense."

"Come to think of it, I don't remember any teamwork meetings," Ino agreed, startled. "But... you guys worked so well together on the mission to Wave country that I... well, I assumed that they happened in one of those 'fuzzy' parts of my knowledge in his memory."

"That was all Naruto, actually," Sakura mused. "It's a shame he never got a chance to complete the chuunin exam. He probably wouldn't have managed the promotion -- he gets too hot-headed and really needs to grow up a bit, first -- but he would have really impressed some people, I think."

"He _did_ impress some people," Ino snorted. "Like the entire Hyuuga clan, when he beat Neji. And just about all of us rookies, when he beat Kiba."

"No, I mean he would have really made some people realize he can think!" Sakura explained passionately. "He needs to mature first, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't got everything he needs to be a chuunin -- or even a jounin! He can take command of a situation and make make people better -- surely you've seen that, with Neji first and then Gaara."

"And Zabuza, don't forget," Ino sighed, looking into her stolen memories. "He actually took an S-rank criminal so bloodthirsty and cruel that he was known as a demon, and shamed him into performing what might be thought of as a final good deed to avenge a fallen comrade."

"I wasn't really paying much attention to that," Sakura admitted, blushing. "I thought Sasuke-kun was dead at the time, and I, uh..."

"Went all to pieces?"

"Yeah. Anyway, Naruto _thinks,_ and that's what most people don't realize about him. He acts like an idiot half the time, but... well, he doesn't just make a thousand clones and strike without a plan like most people believe he does. He's got fierce determination, an instinctual and unbreakable will to win, and impressive stamina -- everyone notices that. And he does use his shadow clones too much... but that may not be an accurate impression. He uses them smartly most of the time, and when he doesn't, it's almost as if he's just trying to guage his opponent by running at him with hundreds of disposable people just like himself, trying every taijutsu trick he has to see if one of them will work. He uses them to hide what he's doing -- he isn't all that great in battlefield stealth, so instead he uses battlefield confusion to get his surprises ready. And while his temper gets the best of him sometimes, it frustrates me to know that I never noticed that before! He's a brilliant ninja -- he's got the hard work and determination that makes Rock Lee so good, and the skills that make people like Neji and Sasuke so threatening. And he can lead! He lead so well in that first battle with Zabuza... and I let the clowning around he did after that mission was over make me forget that fact."

Ino laughed. "You won't get any arguments from me, Sakura-chan. I noticed all those things, as well. But you're leading up to something -- what is it?"

"I need to work on teamwork with Naruto," Sakura sighed, letting go of the frustration she felt at her own obliviousness. "But Naruto isn't here. Ino-chan, this is a hard thing to ask of you... and I won't blame you if you say no... but I wonder if maybe you could try 'channelling' Naruto using your knowledge gained from your mindwalk, and help me learn teamwork with him."

Ino paused, stirring her food around in her bowl. This wasn't at all what she was expecting -- she had moved out with Sakura to get away from her memories of Naruto, not to use them. "I... I don't know. I'm not sure I can really help -- after all, I didn't really copy Naruto into my head, you know, I just saw his memories."

Sakura sighed, and pushed her food away. "I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

"No," Ino protested, shaking her head. "Don't apologize. For one thing, I haven't said 'no' yet. I'm still trying to decide if maybe I should risk it -- I was thinking that maybe trying to escape from Naruto's memories is the wrong approach, and what I should be doing is learning to control them. This might help with that... but I'm not sure I want to take that chance. I have to know, Sakura-chan: Who is the enemy you are preparing to fight? I want to know... just how important it is for you to learn teamwork."

Sakura clenched her fist. "The traitor of the sannin, Orochimaru. He is the one who stole Sasuke-kun from us, and it is only by killing him that Sasuke can ever be rescued."

Ino stirred her oden once more, then pulled out a bite-sized chunk of beef and blew on it. "I'll do it on one condition," she said before chomping down on her food.

"What's that?"

Ino grinned. "Go out on a date with Naruto when he gets back -- a real one."

Sakura paused, blinking. Of all the things she thought Ino would ask of her, that was not it. Still... it was hardly a burden, going out on a date with a decent guy, was it? And as much as she would have refused to admit it just a few months ago, Naruto was much better then just 'decent.' "Deal. But only if he pays!"

Ino laughed, and the two resumed dinner, bringing the conversation around to a much more lighthearted one. They both put what they had agreed to aside for the moment, and silently agreed to just enjoy their evening together. They had plenty of time to worry about the future later.

* * *

Notes: I think that I'll be able to finish this volume in three or four chapters (which is four or fivechapters longer then I originally envisioned it, but I think I've got a better idea of how long certain things are going to take, now). Two more for Naruto (the first of which is coming up next) and then one more for Sakura (possibly two more, actually, but I'm hoping just the one). Then, finally, Naruto and Sakura will be together again when I move on to the 3rd Volume. Until next time, ja ne! 


	7. V2 Chapter 4

Volume 2

Notes: Okay, some of the concepts expressed in this chapter might get a bit... ah, sick, for some of you, given that there are hints of underaged sexual activity (just casual mentions of such occurances, nothing actually taking place in-prose). Keep in mind that Naruto is set in a sort of mixed fuedal japanmodern world, and that in feudal Japan the ages given here were actually OLD to start with sexual activity. Don't believe me? Read one of the 'classics' of Japanese fuedal-era literature, the Tale of Genji. (The references here aren't even as bad as the censored forms of ToG I had to read in class a couple times. If it's good enough for school, I shouldn't have to rate it worse then PG-13... uh, I mean K+) Just remember, Naruto had to learn his improved 'perverted techniques' somewhere... wouldn't you rather it be from a girl then Jiraiya, anyway? Besides, maybe this'll spark up some conversation, since the reviews have been slowing down lately... (eh, I'm not one of those whiny sorts of people who says 'give me a thousand reviews or I won't ever post again,' but the sudden drop in reviews makes me wonder if people think I'm venturing off into the wrong track or something)

* * *

Chapter 4

"Let me get this straight," Naruto groaned. "For the next month, I can only use the kawarimi no jutsu, a basic bushin no jutsu, and the henge?"

"Those are the only ninjitsu you may use, yes... outside of what I'm going to teach you today," Jiraiya acknowledged. "We're travelling as homeless nin who were part of a village that had allied itself with the Mist. That means you can learn water-based techniques today, and use them as much as you want. Any wind element techniques would be okay as well, as well as any lightning based techniques -- but I don't know many of those and I don't think you do either."

"No," Naruto admitted. "But I'm worse off now then I was the day I left the academy! I already had kage bushin by then!"

"Stop shouting, Naruto -- if there's one thing I'm going to teach you before this training trip is all over, it's not to give yourself away by shouting all the time," Jiraiya complained. "That's why I'm teaching you a water technique to make up for it. It's one you should be familiar with -- I understand Kakashi himself learned it with his sharingan on your first c-class mission."

"Am I going to learn water clones?" Naruto asked, not sounding quite as enthusiastic as he usually did when learning a new technique. "I suppose they could substitute for the kage bushin, but I don't think they'd be a real improvement. Isn't the point of this trip for me to get better techniques, not to learn a thousand different ways to do exactly the same thing?"

_Heh. The boy has a point, but I can't let him off too easy. At least I know he'll never have the same silly ambition as Orochimaru. Learn every ninja technique, indeed! Even if he is immortal, techniques will disappear before he can learn them, and others will be created in their place faster then he can absorb them. But this one time, Naruto, it's important. I hope you will understand that..._ "I might teach you water clones while we're in one of the nearby villages, since it's the sort of technique a homeless jounin might teach a homeless genin," Jiraiya admitted. "But it's either that or nothing when we're likely to be spotted by agents of the Rock nin -- I can't be teaching you techniques that they would expect you to already know by virtue of having lived in the town we'll be claiming to come from, nor can I teach you techniques you aren't expected to learn until you become a jounin for the same reason. So... it's water clones or nothing."

Naruto grimmaced. "What about things like kunai training and building chakra?"

"I suppose shuriken training would work," Jiraiya admitted. "But it cannot be kunai. While every hidden village uses kunai, each village has its own tendencies. The one we are claiming to be from uses this one." He pulled out a four-point shuriken that wasn't quite like any that Naruto had ever used. He'd used similar, but they were usually larger and heavier then this one -- it was a midsized blade, quite different from the usual oversized fuuma shuriken or undersized kunai. Naruto took it from the master ninja and felt its wieght in his hand.

"I like this," he said with a grin. "I like the idea of using this in my taijutsu and ninjitsu training."

Jiraiya decided that he'd made enough of a breakthrough -- for now -- and nodded. Maybe they could work on meditation, too -- Naruto seemed to have trouble with it, always turning it into a chakra-building exercise instead of basic meditation. He was only able to relax enough to enter the first stage of meditation when he was 'training,' since he seemed to believe he was wasting time doing anything else. "Okay. Now, let's talk about a jounin-level water element technique you can learn while we're still here. It has limitations -- it can only be used near water, for example -- but I think you'll find it quite powerful. You might possibly manage to use it as a counter to some of the less powerful Uchiha fire element techniques..."

Naruto's enthusiasm seemed to return as he grinned. "Okay! Now we're getting somewhere! What technique is it?"

"The water dragon technique. Now, let's head on over to that lake and I'll demonstrate it -- I'm sure you've seen it, before, but pay close attention to which seals I use."

"Okay!" Naruto agreed.

Going very slowly, and using the minimum possible amount of chakra to perform the technique, Jiraiya formed the seals. "Suiton -- Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

Looking rather lethargic due to the low power put into it, a moderately-sized dragon formed out of the water and started thrashing around. It lasted for only a few seconds before collapsing.

Naruto scratched his head. "Looks pretty weak," he said.

"That's as weak as it can get," Jiraiya agreed. "To be effective, you need to use about the same amount of chakra as you use to form ten kage bushin clones, though you can produce a weak one like that with just six kage bushin's worth of power. I didn't want to use full power for the demonstration -- it might have distracted you from the seals. Now, did you see all of them?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I think I got it. Looks easy enough -- I might even manage to get this technique down by my birthday!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Birthday?"

"I turn fourteen in four days," Naruto explained casually, forming seals. "Suiton -- Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

There was a large splash, but little else. Jiraiya huffed. "You need to consciously shape the water into a dragon, and then control it the same way you control a bushin or kage bushin. Fourteen, eh? Interesting time in a boys life."

"Suiton -- Suiryuudan no jutsu!" This time, the water recognizably turned into a dragon, but it fell apart before it could finish the transformation. "Why do you say that? I'm really just going to be a few days older then I am today."

"Close, but you have to hold it better. Ah, yes, but the age of fourteen is when a lot of your friends will be married," Jiraiya explained. "That Hyuuga boy you fought in the Chuunin exam -- Neji, I think it was -- would have been married already if he wasn't a member of the branch family who was constantly away on missions as a shinobi. Unless she's out on a mission right now, that Hinata girl will probably be married when she turns fourteen, too. Also, had Sasuke's clan survived, he would be getting married around this age, as well... and don't be surprised if you find that several other of your friends are married before you get back."

Naruto's eyes wided. "Sakura-chan! She--"

"Isn't getting married anytime soon, don't worry," Jiraiya snorted. "Nowadays, it's mostly a clan thing, and the Haruno clan has never been one for arranged marriages. The reason why those people get married so early is obsolete, nowadays -- about fourty years ago, fourteen years old was the age at which kunoichi would begin training as courtesans, since their missions often involved posing as prostitutes." A wistful look appeared on his face. "I wish I'd had a chance to face puberty in a time like that, when _all_ of the kunoichi would... ahem! Anyway, nowadays it is forbidden for courtesan training to begin until twenty, so most kunoichi are already married by then. The law now only forces any unmarried kunoichi still chuunin rank or lower into courtesan training. Most parents of kunoichi nowadays allow their children some freedom to make their own decisions before they start trying to force the issue, but a number of the more powerful clans in Konoha have kept the 'marry by fourteen' tradition going."

"Huh. Well, I'm not going to have to worry about that." He looked down briefly, hiding his eyes from view. "It's not as if any of the other villagers would want to arrange me in marriage to anyone, anyway."

Jiraiya sighed, fearing he had touched too sore a subject. I have to boost this boys spirits, somehow -- he's already forgetting how many people he has managed to win the friendship and respect of. Oh, I know -- the perfect thing for a boy about to turn fourteen. He grinned. "Tell you what, Naruto -- if you can master this technique by tomorrow, I'll get you the best birthday present you'll ever have gotten!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "A birthday present? I've never had a birthday present, before! All right, let's get this thing mastered: Suiton -- Suiryuudan no jutsu!"

The largest, most powerful water dragon Jiraiya had ever seen leapt out of the lake -- or rather, since just about all the water had been drained into the dragon, the once-lake -- and did a few backflips of joy before returning to the pond. "That was... decent," he commented, trying to keep the boys ego from swelling up too much.

"Yahoo! All right -- now, what's my birthday present? Huh? Huh?"

Jiraiya swallowed. "Um, Naruto... you don't get your present until your birthday, you know. That's why it's called a birthday present."

* * *

"A brothel? You're taking me to a brothel for my birthday?" Naruto snorted. "Geeze -- I shouldn't have gotten so worked up! I'm just fourteen -- what do I care about a brothel, anyway? Besides--"

"Shut up, kid. I'm paying a lot for you -- this is a _very_ high class place," Jiraiya countered. "Fourteen is old enough in Konoha. I would have loved being sent to a place like this when I was your age!"

"You're a pervert, though," Naruto pointed out.

"I'm the greatest pervert of all time, and don't you forget it!" Jiraiya, uh, bragged. "But that's not the point. Kid, it's better for a guy to be more experienced then the girl, anyway, first-time. Otherwise--"

"Shut up! I don't want this 'birthday present,' after all, ero-sennin, so--"

"Too late," Jiraiya grinned. "I've already paid for it. You might as well take it -- really, it's okay."

A lovely young woman, who looked to be about five years older than Naruto, approached them. "Is this the client?" she asked the perverted hermit.

"That's him. He's a bit reluctant, but it'll be good for him."

The woman grinned. "Okay, I understand. The younger ones are always a little nervous, the first time, and they all react differently to the situation." She placed a surprisingly firm grip on Naruto's shoulder and gently said, "Come on, young man. I promise, you will enjoy this very much."

"But-- hey!" Naruto tried to resist, but he couldn't escape from being dragged into a room by the girl without hurting her. He didn't want to hurt anyone -- except perhaps a certain perverted master of his -- and the girl was just doing what she had been paid to do, after all. Finally, she closed the door behind her and sat the two of them on a bed.

"Relax -- I've been trained for breaking in virgins. It's no big deal," the prostitute said soothingly, reaching out and pulling down the zipper of Naruto's jacket before his hand came up and caught it half-way.

"I don't want to do this," he said.

The girl was surprised at his strength, but not by too much. She knew he was a homeless genin ninja, so he obviously must have had some training in fighting. She had her own skills, however, and she had been paid well to use them.

"I understand. You're nervous," she cooed. "But don't worry about it. I promise, you'll really enjoy what I can do for you."

"How many times do I have to say it?" Naruto growled. "I do _not_ want to do this. I want to stay loyal to Sakura-chan!"

That stopped the woman cold. "To... to who?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. Then he calmed down, realizing that just maybe he had found a way to escape this problem without having to hurt anybody. Except Jiraiya -- the perverted hermit was still getting a huge beat-down as soon as he was able to get away from this place. "Back h-home," he began, trying desperately to figure out how to talk about this without blowing any secrets. "There's a girl who I know from... back home. I... well, she was back home last time I was there, anyway. I'm not even sure she's alive, now."

That much was true -- he'd been having nightmares the past several nights of her going after Orochimaru alone, and various unspeakable things happening to her. He was very worried, largely because he couldn't keep in contact with her thanks to the mail blackout, and so he couldn't dismiss his nightmares so easily.

"Was she your girlfriend?" the prostitute asked kindly.

"I... I wish she had been," Naruto sighed. "But no. She was interested in my best friend and rival -- a boy who, uh, went missing. I made the promise of a lifetime that I would get the boy back for her, and that's why I'm here."

The girl's eyes widened. "So... why do you remain loyal to her? If she wants another, and you know this, then why--"

"Because she's Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "Don't you understand that? She's... she's..." For reasons he didn't know, Naruto felt a small teardrop go down the corner of his cheek and sniffed. "I couldn't do that. I can't. I won't."

Closing her eyes, the young woman took a deep, purifying breath. In most males, what that did to her robes would turn heads and possibly cause nosebleeds, but the boy in front of her didn't react at all. A small, bitter smile reached her lips before she said anything else.

"Why did that man think you need to come here? Who is he?"

"He is my... uh, sensei, I suppose," Naruto explained. "He's a big pervert, too. Usually, all that means is he makes me do all the work while he hangs out a places like this, but he really knows his stuff. I can learn a lot from him. And really, I have nothing against perverts -- they just have a big weakness, that's all."

"A weakness?" the prostitute echoed, confused.

"Yeah," Naruto snorted. Forming a seal, he called, "Henge! Sexy no Jutsu!"

The girl's eyes widened as the sweet little boy in front of her transformed into a foxy blond, totally nude... except for a bunch of clouds covering up certain strategic places on the body. "Oh, my."

"Yeah. That's enough to knock most of them out," Naruto went on before changing back. "I call it a 'perverted ninjitsu,' since it's intended for use against perverts. I haven't found much use for it since I became a real genin, though."

The girl grinned. "Well, maybe I could give you some pointers which will make your 'perverted ninjitsu' more useful to someone of your, ah, experience. But first... take off your shirt and jacket, and lie face-down on the bed."

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes got wary again, and he bundled up even further into his jacket, looking almost too modest to be the same ninja who had just changed into a nude woman a second before. "I thought I said no. I want to remain loyal to Sakura-chan, dammit, and I won't--"

"Relax," the woman said, waving him off. "I know. I won't make you betray S-sakura-chan, don't worry. I was paid for a full night of service, however, and I cannot refund your teacher his money. I feel as if I must do something for all of the money he has put down for you. But please, take off your shirt and lie down, anyway -- a gentle massage won't be a betrayal of your girl back home. And then, well, maybe we can talk about some things. I think maybe I can give you some ideas for your 'perverted ninjitsu,' and then... I'd like you to tell me more about this 'Sakura-chan.'"

* * *

As Naruto was experiencing his second massage this evening -- for after trying out some of the things he did while perfecting his new 'perverted ninjitsu' he discovered all of the lady's work was undone -- he found himself considering whether this training trip had really been worth it. Might he have been better off, staying at or near the village to train? He would have been close to his friends, and better capable of keeping a better eye on Sakura. Also, he wouldn't have had to hide the fact he was from Konoha, and would have been able to practice better, stronger, faster techniques instead of a few neat ones when no-one was looking and a bunch of useless ones the rest of the time. And he wouldn't be stuck in a brothel all night.

Although he had to admit it wasn't that bad. The girl was right -- she was able to ply her trade with massages and a comforting ear (and wicked tongue, as he discovered while they conjured perverted ninjitsu ideas) without making him feel like he was betraying Sakura, or asking for more activity then he was comfortable with. If he wasn't so devoted to Sakura, he realized, he might have actually let the woman take his virginity after all. She made him that comfortable.

_She'd be a poor mate for you, _something inside him said. It took Naruto a moment to realize who it was.

_Kyuubi?_ Naruto mentally exclaimed, tensing up. _Since when could you talk to me?_

"Did I do something wrong?" the girl asked.

"Uh, no -- I just thought of something I'd forgotten to do. It doesn't matter, though," Naruto explained, hoping that didn't sound too lame.

"Okay," she answered. "But it looks like I'll have to start over... again. You must learn to relax, Naruto-kun. Surely you wouldn't be this tense if Sakura-chan was doing this for you, would you?"

Naruto tried to imagine Sakura giving him a massage. _Now that's a girl who might be worthy, _the Kyuubi purred. _Her bloodline would be good for the both of us._

"Er... Sakura-chan wouldn't be doing this for me. If she was, I'd be worried she was an imposter about to stab me in the back," was his comeback line.

A sad chuckle answered him. "And yet you remain loyal to this girl? I pity you. It must be something about you being a ninja that gives you such determination."

"I swore an oath," Naruto stated fiercely. "I want her happy, regardless of what becomes of me." _And to become hokage... but I can't say anything about that. In this land, perhaps that is my reward: I can tell people of my other goal in life without worry that someone would hurt her for being someone I care for._ He had often worried, now that he was winning over some friends, that the people who hated him would start to punish those who recognized and respected who he was. Sakura was who he worried for the most, and he couldn't be there to protect her. Damn.

_Relax, kid. It will be all right._

"Relax, kid," the prostitute said, unknowingly echoing what the Kyuubi was telling him. "I was teasing. I won't question your devotion again."

Naruto tried to follow their advice, releasing the tension he felt. Still, he needed assurance... and who was there to reassure him she would be okay?

_I will, kid, _Kyuubi snorted. _I wish I could be free of the prison that is you, but I am giving up hope of that ever happening. Instead, I look to my future... and see it in your children. Your children will carry the powers I grant you, and become the most powerful 'bloodline ability,' as you call it, in the world. That shall be my legacy, and I finally accept it. But that means my concerns are now for your future mate, whoever she will be. Keep your options open, boy, but that 'Sakura' girl would be a good choice for the both of us. Her bloodline would be well complimented with my own powers and the powers that have come from when we fight as one. These are not the same thing, boy, so don't forget it -- whoever we mate with, when pups come, will have the powers I have granted you: Near limitless chakra, the ability to call forth a projection of myself to overlay and strengthen your own, faster reflexes, and rapid growth in strength if not in skill. But those things, alone, while they would make our descendents great, would not make them known as the greatest. Your mate must bring something to the table, as well, kid, and this whore holds no interest for me in that regard._

_I will remain loyal to Sakura-chan,_ Naruto thought back. _And she is in love with Sasuke. So I will have no 'descendents' for you to worry about._

Naruto felt oil being applied to his back. It started off cool, but then got very hot like it was on fire. Normally, such a sensation might be painful. Now, however, it was quite soothing.

_You're too young for that decision to be final,_ Kyuubi noted. _And even if it is,_ she _may not have made a final decision as yet. I like the Sakura woman, kid, and so I make you this pledge: If you ever take her -- or another who I approve of -- to be your mate, then you and yours will always be under my protection... even if I am somehow released from my prison._

Naruto wondered at that. _I... thank you. But you had better hope Sakura-chan will one day be willing to be my girl, because as I said before... I will have no other._

That said, he drifted to sleep under the skilled hands of the prostitute-turned-masseuse, for once at peace with himself and the world.

* * *

Jiraiya was in the waiting room of the brothel he and the boy had hired for the night, waiting for his charge to come in. He had a lazy smile on his face, knowing he had done good -- that boy had needed a stress reliever, and what better way then this? Maybe now he'd lay off all those 'ero-sennin' cracks, what with him knowing just how delightful the pleasures of the flesh could be. And maybe, if he enjoyed it enough, he could convince the lad to help him peep in on women's bath-houses from time to time.

Naruto entered the room on the arm of the lady he had been with the night before as they whispered softly to each other. He heard a quiet, "Go to the lady over there, and tell her I said for you to have the number three special package for departing customers -- and make sure you include the last bit, or else you'll get something you don't want. I want to talk with your companion here in private for a bit."

Naruto nodded, running off to see the madam in charge of the brothel. _A number three special, eh? The boy must have really been something. Maybe he could give_ me _some tips._

"You," the woman said, pulling him aside -- rather roughly, too. "You are in disguise, I know -- it's easy enough to see who you are in the daylight. If you want to remain hidden, I suggest you never go near another brothel. We've all heard about you, and all know who you are... Jiraiya-sama."

He puffed up. "I guess my reputation is pretty good."

"You're one of the most important clients the brothel industry has," she answered wryly. "But I want to speak with you about that boy. If anything -- and I mean anything -- ever happens to him under your care, I don't care how important you are to my trade -- you will never find another whore willing to even look at you again, no matter how much money you may be willing to pay. That boy... that boy is special."

The perverted hermit could only think of one reason why this woman was so defensive of him. "He was that good, huh?"

"He never touched me," the lady said. "And I did nothing to dishonor him. He is _loyal,_ you creep, to another girl -- so loyal, he has left on a wild goose chase to recover the boy _she_ loves, thinking he'll never have her. He swore an oath to keep that girl happy, and he doesn't care what it means to him -- he will be loyal to her. Don't torture him by subjecting him to a place like this, again."

Jiraiya was understandably confused as he lead Naruto away -- just what would make a common whore so adamant about keeping a boy she didn't even know safe? What had happened the previous night, anyway?

The madam walked over to the girl as she watched them go. "What was that all about? You really let the boy have a number three?"

"Yeah," the prostitute confirmed, still watching the road where the two ninjas were walking.

"You do know that'll come out of your cut for his services, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, why did you give it to him? He's a fourteen year old boy -- he couldn't have been that good."

"No," the girl admitted, returning to her room once the pair were out of sight. "But he will be, some day."

The madam shook her head. "You're a strange one, Sakura-chan."

* * *

Notes: I hope no-one was too freaked out by this chapter. That's right -- Jiraiya's banned from brothels until the stay in Rock country is over. Expect him to be a bit cranky next time you see him. Next chapter we get to see Sakura with the family scrolls, her an Ino training together, and (if I can squeeze it in -- if not, it'll be a couple chapters after that) Sakura's promotion to chuunin. Until then, ja! 


	8. V2 Chapter 5

Volume 2

Notes: To respond to some reviews, I was NOT Jiraiya-bashing in the last chapter. I was, however, using his weakness (and every character in Naruto has them) in order to set up the next time you see him... when a, ah, frustrated Jiraiya starts showing just how much of a slave-driver he can be (as the manga directs). As far as the complexity of the water dragon technique goes... I'm not certain how complex it really is. The first time we see it, we have someone who's trying to fool a sharingan user, so I figured Zabuza might have been using a number of un-needed seals to try and confuse. In future anime episodes where we see the technique performed, it doesn't take nearly as long to launch.Perhaps I could have chosen a different technique (it didn't matter which technique I was teaching Naruto at that point, so long as it was one he didn't already know yet he wouldn't object to learning... and so long as it might involve chakra) but perhaps not. If you think it was too complex for him to learn that quickly, fine -- just imagine it was something else. Also, I don't think I've ever read Foxhound (I may have -- I'm bad with titles -- but I certainly don't remember the scene(s) in question), so any similarities between Ino's techniques in that fic and in this one are entirely coincidental. As far as what the 'Number 3 package' is, well, that'll come up in the future (possibly in part during Chapter 6, but more likely in Volume 3 and beyond).

* * *

Chapter 5 

Sakura grinned as she looked across at Ino. To her surprise, she had found that her best training days were days like these -- when Tsunade had given her some time for 'independent study,' leaving her free to -- for example -- read her family scrolls... or to spar with an opponent. And Ino, she found, was probably the best opponent she could have. Tsunade had given her, and was still giving her, impressive skills and powerful techniques through her medical ninjitsu and her 'chakra-enhanced' strength. She would often grin, knowing that in time -- employing the techniques Tsunade used to remain youthful and healthy -- she'd probably start growing her bust out some, too. That, apparently, was a side effect of her training... but one which, apparently, would take years to start developing. Which was a shame -- she was hoping to have the enhanced bust when she next saw Naruto -- she wanted to shock him, to have him see her more as a woman. She wasn't quite sure why -- it wasn't like she was in love with the boy, like she had been with Sasuke -- but she wanted to be able to knock his socks off. She'd even gone so far as to update her wardrobe a bit, including some rather flashy boots and a nice pair of cut-off gloves to make her look that much more dangerous.

But right now, that wasn't important. Tsunade was helping her feel better about herself, helping her look better, and helping her learn better techniques... but Ino was helping her learn how to apply what she knew. The scrolls were helping her take her own natural abilities to the next level. And the rest of her time... well, it would often be split among a lot of things. Her mother was actually dusting the rust off her fighting skills to provide Sakura with some additional help, she had been volunteering at the hospital to put her medical ninjitsu to good use, and... well, she'd even gotten to the point where she'd liked the ramen at Ichiraku's. When the cook had heard of Naruto's request in his letter, he'd almost cried -- apparently, the old man and his daughter, Ayame, really cared for him... they talked about how they'd come to look at the boy, maybe not as a son, but as a favorite nephew or cousin... and they were deeply touched by his concern.

Ino smirked. "Well, Sakura, it looks like you've got some things on your mind. Maybe I should just peak in there for a second, hmm?"

Sakura raised one hand, waving her off. "Time out. I'm still trying to decide what I want to work on most, today."

An evil grin appeared on the other girl's face. "How about slug training? I do so enjoy the look of _delight _on your face when you work on that."

Sakura grimmaced. Truthfully, she didn't have enough chakra to perform a decent summon technique. Her control was absolutely perfect, but even perfect control wouldn't compensate for a situation where there just wasn't enough energy present... and so she knew just how much of a waste of time it was, finally. When she talked to Tsunade about that, her master had said, "Well, Sakura, it's about time you realized that. So, when do you want to start learning some decent chakra-building techniques?" Since then, she hadn't tried a single summon... and was starting to actually miss the training. After all, Tsunade's view of a 'decent' chakra-building technique wasn't exactly a bed of roses.

"I'm not ready for that, yet," Sakura explained. "But how about some teamwork exercises?"

Ino grinned. "What is 'Naruto' facing, this time?"

The teamwork exercises were fairly simple, usually -- and were really helping Ino cope with her mindwalking's backlash. Sakura would pose a situation, and then Ino would practice control over her stolen memories and psyche to predict Naruto's reaction to it. It was almost as if she was learning how Naruto fought while they practiced... and Ino actually felt herself getting stronger because of it. She had even learned Naruto's kage bushin just from exploring his memories... (the Rasengan was another story -- she understood the principle easily enough, but in practice she found herself physically incapable of it. The amount of chakra required was more then she could muster, and she found that even trying to concentrate that much together would result in injury as her own chakra was burning her hands to the point of uselessness. It was after Sakura's fifth time rebuilding her hands from the pulp they had become that she finally gave it up, deciding that, much like the chidori was for Naruto, this was a technique she simply would never be able to learn). After hearing what Naruto would do, Sakura would explain how she would react as well -- occasionally giving a demonstration if it was something Ino was unfamiliar with -- and then predicted the reaction of their enemy. Ino would, in turn, predict Naruto's movements, and then have her own say in the enemy's movement. It wasn't all verbal, either -- once they had worked out what they would do, they actually tried it.

Not on each other, of course, but through a shared-mind technique Sakura had found in her family scrolls. It turned out that, among other things her scrolls had which shocked her (including one sealed scroll she had yet to open, labeled 'Mangekyou.' She wanted to read it, but she was holding off until a time when Ino wasn't around to open it), she had learned that her family and Ino's family had been very close partners for generations -- in fact, since before Konoha's birth. Centuries before, the two clans had been the leaders of a now-extinct nation's entire shinobi force, one defending the nation's secrets (Sakura's family), the other extracting it (Ino's). Therefore, there were numerous techniques listed in one of the scrolls that would only work when partnered with a Yamanaka clan member, like Ino. That scroll they shared... and discovered an interesting method of practicing for battle. By linking their minds, they could actually see with their own 'eyes' just how the battle would go, in much clearer detail and with much more accuracy then their own imaginations would allow. The enemy would sometimes act unexpectedly, as he was given limited freedom of movement as he was conjured by both of their concepts, and so they found that they could work better together than they ever believed.

Sometimes, Ino would do this as herself -- she and Sakura were both trying to use this time to improve -- but more often Ino put Naruto's psyche into the simulation and used herself as the villain (occasionally employing techniques she didn't even know how to use... but that was unimportant, as what only mattered in the simulation was the _appearance _and not the result).

"I want to know what Naruto can do against a certain technique," Sakura sighed, looking down. "It... well, we're going up against Orochimaru himself when he gets back. Orochimaru used this technique against me and Sasuke when we were seperated during the Chuunin exam, and... well, let's just say it might be part of the reason Sasuke-kun decided to join that bastard."

Ino frowned. "What is the technique? If Naruto hasn't seen it, then..."

"I can project it into my mind and share it with you," Sakura explained. "But be careful with it -- it'll shock you."

A grimace appeared on the blond's face. "Well, my psyche's already shot to hell. Might as well..."

They instituted the seal, and suddenly Ino found herself in the Forest of Death again, as a very creepy man stared down at her and Sasuke-kun. The creep, who Ino realized was Orochimaru in disguise, swallowed a scroll with a snake-like tongue.

"Now let's begin... the battle for each others scrolls," Orochimaru said. "With our lives on the line."

Suddenly, an image of her own death appeared, a dagger in her forehead. She fell to her knees, unable to move... fear. She was locked in place by fear, and she couldn't be anything but afraid.

_A mental attack... not a genjustsu, but a mental attack,_ Ino realized with the conscious part of her mind. She could deal with that sort of attack fairly easily, herself, given the nature of her family's techniques... but she wasn't trying to win the fight as herself. Mentally, she projected Naruto's psyche and mentality into her position, and felt the results... and realized something.

Sakura, on the outside watching in, was at first concerned when Ino fell to her knees. She could see the abject horror of the gaze Ino revealed, and wondered if she had looked like that when she had been the victim of the same technique. She was quite startled, therefore, when Ino started laughing.

"Oh, this wouldn't work on Naruto at _all,_" Ino laughed. "It's a projection of fear so great that a person cannot move... but that doesn't matter to Naruto. He feels fear, and has in fact been frozen in fear before -- you recall his first ever real battle during that mission to Wave country, right? But the counter is, well, to know how to move despite your fears. Naruto has done that -- he did that when he first faced Zabuza, and now he knows to never be frozen in fear again. So he won't."

Sakura blinked. "Oh."

"I can counter it fairly easily, by the way," Ino explained. "Because it is entirely a mental attack. I think you should be able to, as well... one part of your Overlay Persona should be able to keep functioning, even if the other is shut down by fear, and the functioning part should be able to help you move until the other part starts working, again."

"Wow -- I guess this bloodline trait of mine isn't quite so useless, after all," Sakura said, then shrugged. "I suppose I've been learning that more and more as I read the family scrolls, but I really need to figure out how to use it better. My great great grandfather was able to use it in many ingenius ways... I have only just begun learning the paired techniques our two families shared. Unless you plan to come with us when Naruto and I go after Orochimaru, that's not going to be much help."

Ino nodded. "I don't think I'm ready for that. In fact, I'm not even really willing to go out on D-rank missions right now. I... right now, if I went into battle, I'd be confused as to who I was -- Yamanaka Ino or Uzumaki Naruto... or some wierd fusion of both."

"Naruto sucks at D-rank missions," Sakura laughed. "His abilities and intelligence seem to increase with the difficulty of the challenge he faces. If you start thinking you're him during one, you'd better just quit right there before you spoil it all."

Ino blinked, reviewing her own memories of Naruto. "Actually... that's not a bad assessment of him. He expects easy things to be easy, and so doesn't apply himself as well as he should, and gets easily frustrated when he can't do things he expects to be that easy. But he's getting better at it, the more mature he grows... and he's growing, Sakura. He'll be even more grown when you see him again, so you'd better be ready for it. He's going to surprise you."

Sakura remembered Naruto as he departed to 'rescue' Sasuke from the sound, and then in the hospital afterwords when he insisted he wasn't done, and that he would keep his word. She shook her head. "No... In failure or success, I don't think I'll ever be surprised by him again."

* * *

Sakura was flying backwards from the force of the blow. She thought that her speed was finally enough to dodge all of the punches instead of having to block them, but apparently she was mistaken... and due to that miscalculation, she had been hit hard. However, her Overlay Persona kept her from being too distracted -- she now knew what to do. Ignoring the terrible bruising pain she felt slamming through the concrete wall, she managed to land on her feet and raise her guard. Only after she saw that her opponent wasn't moving to launch another attack was she able to take the time to wipe the blood from her mouth -- that wasn't good; it probably meant internal bleeding, and Sakura was too busy to take care of that at the moment. 

"Hold!" came Tsunade's command. "I think that's enough for today. Come over here and let me take care of your wounds -- that way your chakra won't be wiped out."

Coughing up a little more blood, Sakura nodded. She stumbled a bit, stepping over the crumbled remains of the wall she had been thrown through, but outside of that showed none of the weakness she felt. Tsunade met her halfway, green healing chakra pushing out from her hands and soothing Sakura's aching guts.

"That was a good hit," Sakura said, taking a shuddering breath.

"I think I should congratulate you," Tsunade said. "You survived a full power shot to the heart from yours truly. I didn't even mean to throw that powerful a hit, and I'm sorry I did."

Sakura glared at the woman she was now calling 'master.' "Tsunade-shishou... I don't believe that it wasn't intentional for a second."

"You think I was trying to kill you?" Tsunade asked, surprised.

"No. I think you were trying to test me. You've made 'mistakes' like this every day this week, and while few of them had as much risk to be as lethal as this one, it's pretty obvious that these aren't just mistakes," Sakura pointed out.

Tsunade sighed. "For the record, I wasn't aiming at your heart. I wasn't expecting you to dodge the way you did, and I was trying to get your shoulder. But yes, the 'full power' thing was intentional, and so were all the other 'accidents' this week."

"Well, why are you doing them?" Sakura demanded. "You're quite plainly setting me up for something. What is it?"

Tsunade finished with her healing technique and grabbed the girl by the sleeve. "Well, I was thinking of your future. I'm considering promoting you to chuunin."

"Promoting me!" Sakura exclaimed. "But... but I'm not ready to be promoted. And even if I were, well, I don't have a team, or--"

"You are ready," Tsunade interrupted. "If you weren't, you wouldn't be alive right now -- I wouldn't have been able to repair your heart at all. As far as not having a team goes... surely you don't think we prevent people from being promoted just because their team gets broken up?"

Sakura blinked. "But... you need a three man team to participate in the chuunin exam. Are you going to assign me random partners or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Tsunade said. "You really only need one partner -- and no, you won't be fighting them. Just find someone who you work well with, and bring them along... because there are other ways of testing to become a chuunin then taking the chuunin exam."

"How?" Sakura asked, now looking curious.

"Simple," Tsunade replied, smiling. "There are four ways to become a chuunin in Konoha. The best known of them, though also the hardest path, is the Chuunin exam. A person in your position must participate in the chuunin exam at least once, and get past the first part of the exam, in order to participate in any of the alternate methods... but as long as you do that, and your sensei believes that you have 'learned the lessons' the chuunin exam is supposed to teach, you can try a different way."

"A person in my position?" Sakura asked, a little confused.

"Well, how to explain," Tsunade sighed. "I understand you were given the 'bell test' by Kakashi, and he passed you because he believed you would work together. You know, however, that many of your classmates from that year were sent back to the academy. Well, what do you think they do at the academy, anyway? They've already qualified as genin, so studying the cadet-level techniques would be pointless. Instead, they are retrained. Not every ninja in Konoha goes out on missions, you know -- people must stick around to act in administrative functions, serve as honor guards, prepare special drugs and foods, make weapons, and so forth. The basics are taught in cadet school, yes, but when someone 'fails' the bell test, or its equivelent, they are sent back to learn a specialty -- honor guard, food and medicine, smithing, repair and maintenence, sewing uniforms, etc. They, too, have a system of promotion, one which also gives them 'genin, chuunin, jounin' ranks. And, in time of war, they make an excellent auxilliary force to defend the town while the 'mission-capable' ninja head out to fight. When your mother got pregnant with you, she initially switched from active duty to the auxilliary as a weaponsmith, and recieved her promotion to jounin through an administrative test. In the end, though, she found she didn't even have the time and energy for that, so she retired and lived on a pension... but just about every one of her co-workers were those who failed the bell test."

"Ah," Sakura said, comprehension dawning. "So, I can't take that exam if I want to remain an active kunoichi. There were two other methods, you said?"

"Yes," Tsunade replied. "One is a special tournament with no outsiders present -- the candidates can skip the first and second parts of the exam, and just duke it out to prove to a panel that they have what it takes to be a chuunin. Most teams which are split apart by having only one or two members promoted participate, and usually everyone who is considered 'eligible' will have a pass rubber-stamped for them, because by that point the Jounin has felt the genin has learned what he must learn from the rest of the exam, and the facts bear him out, so repeating those tests seems silly. The final method, however, is essentially a 'battlefield promotion.' Someone is given an 'acting-chuunin' rank for a particular assignment of c-rank or better. If they succeed in accomplishing the mission, the promotion is made permanent. If they fail, they're usually either dead or busted back to chuunin for a minimum of six months." She grinned. "I've got a mission for you, and I sure hope I won't have to bust you back to genin afterwards."

Sakura blinked. "A mission? But my training--"

"I'll be coming with you," Tsunade explained. "This mission is an A-rank mission. You and a partner will be given 'acting-chuunin' status, and you both will accompany as my bodyguards and escorts during a mission where I'll be making an official state visit to another country. I won't be allowed to take more then two, so you'd better be able to work well with your partner -- all of our lives are counting on it."

Sakura blinked. "Why me? And... where are we going?"

"To the 'neutral' country of Wave. Actually, Wave is an ally of ours, but the treaty hasn't been signed yet -- that's one half of why we're going there. The other half is for me to meet with the raikage -- your sensei, Kakashi, has been on a successful diplomatic mission to the hidden village of Cloud, and they have agreed to an official treaty of neutrality to end the cold war we have been in for... well, my entire lifetime, come to think of it -- winning the last war with them was what gave my grandfather enough prestige to be named the first hokage." Tsunade paused. "So... will you do it?"

Sakura hesitated. "I... Tsunade-shishou, I'm not ready to become a chuunin. It isn't that I don't think I have the skills, any more -- you have taught me well, and while I might not be in the 'elite' just yet, I wouldn't necessarily feel overmatched if I were in a fight with someone who wasn't a genin, themselves."

"You'd stand a fair shot against most of the jounin I know," Tsunade commented.

"It's just... I feel wrong not doing this without my team. Naruto... he really deserves this promotion more than I do. And Sasuke-kun--"

Tsunade's eyes were softening to the sympathetic when Sakura mentioned the blond-haired youth who she felt as strongly about as if he were her own son. When Sasuke was mentioned, however, she put her foot down -- literally. The force of the blow shattered the concrete they were standing on, and shook buildings for almost a mile around with seismic shock. Sakura, unprepared for the sudden loss of flooring, fell backwards, staring at her master in horror.

"I said you are ready to become a chuunin. Do not hold back because one of your teammates has become a traitor. Because you said that... Sakura, my student, you are no longer allowed to back out of this mission. Either you become an acting-chuunin and take it -- and either succeed or die trying -- or you quit being a ninja right now. Which is it?" the older woman snapped, standing over her fallen student.

_Uh... I guess Tsunade-shishou isn't quite as flexible as the Third, is she? I remember Naruto arguing for a 'c-rank' mission with the Third and winning... but I think when he gets back I'd better warn him not to cross_ this _hokage._ "Uh, I guess I'll do it."

"Good. Now, to business. Who do you trust, among the genin, to join me on this expedition?"

Sakura paused to collect herself, trying desperately to gather her wits. "If it were just about their fighting abilities, I'd pick either Rock Lee or Hyuga Neji. Probably Neji, since he's the better fighter. But this mission... it has to be about more then a person's fighting abilities, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't," Tsunade agreed.

"Well, then," Sakura said hesitantly. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure she'll go for it. See, I've been working with her a lot, recently, but she's currently on medical leave..."

Cooking dinner over a stove at their home, Yamanake Ino sneezed. _Hmm, _she thought. _Someone must be talking about me..._

* * *

Notes: The mission to Wave Country, sadly, will have to wait for another chapter. I was hoping to cover the last bit of 'Sakura's story' in this, but half-way through I changed my mind as to how to promote Sakura-chan (the original, and badly overused, idea was the tournament mentioned above). I've already got ideas to attach the mission to certain subplots I already had in mind, so it isn't like I'm going to be putting in what is little more than a filler chapter (although, come to think of it, that's exactly what it is... but I think I can use it to show a certain bit of character development I was intending to show at the tournament, instead). I also decided NOT to open the Mangekyou scroll just yet (that was supposed to be a kicker), but instead will reserve it for later. So, those of you Ino-centric fans, you're getting a bit of a bonus with Sakura and Ino's journey in V2 Chapter 7 since I wasn't planning on having her enter the same tournament as Sakura, but have her cheering her on (and helping her with advice from the stands) instead. It'll work out for the best, just trust me on that one... er, please trust me. I know what I'm doing, really! (Eep). However, you'll have to wait -- V2 Chapter 6 will deal with Naruto's training, an encounter with a group of actual Rock Nin, and Naruto winning the hearts and minds of yet more strangers he's fighting against. (Expect a slight delay, though -- I have to reread some stuff from the manga first. Don't ask what -- it may or may not be a spoiler for future chapter(s). 


	9. V2 Chapter 6

Volume 2

Notes: I had to make up a country name with Naruto-style naming structure. I pulled the name from some of the lyrics to a favorite song of mine. Ten bonus points to the first person to identify the performer, the album, andor the song name. (Er, but the points count for nothing, so I suppose all that really means is you get bragging rights. Oh, well.)

Chapter 6

It had been a full year since they first entered a town in their disguises as homeless nin, the day he had been taken to a brothel for his birthday, yet niether Jiraiya nor Naruto had achieved their goals in the Earth Country's border regions. They had yet to encounter a single rock ninja, nor learned a single earth elemental technique, and they only had one more year before they had to be back in Konoha. From what he had been told, any one of four certain basic earth element techniques would be ideal for Naruto to learn to counter the fire elemental techniques of the Uchiha. They were the Earth Wall, Earth Dragon Missile, Mud Catapult, or Earth Armor techniques... yet Jiraiya hadn't even seen any of the techniques performed in almost twenty years, and Naruto had never seen them performed. From what Jiraiya had said, the Earth Wall technique would build a wall of dirt and rock in front of the user. The Earth Dragon Missile would work much like the Water Dragon technique, but would be made out of earth and could shoot fire. The Mud Catapult would sent large balls of mud flying at a target. Finally, the Earth Armor technique would act much as Gaara's sand armor technique, only it required more chakra to produce and much more to maintain, it didn't cover all of the body (in fact, it mostly just covered the torso and forearms), and it was easier to pierce. All of them had their strengths and weaknesses, but any one of them would be ideal for the purpose they were intended.

In a relatively subdued celebration of Naruto's fifteenth birthday, they were sitting in a small town's Odango Shack, a restaurant specializing in the sweets. Ever since the brothel incident, training with Jiraiya had gotten harder and harder. Before, the old hermit would give him the basics of a new technique and then leave for a brothel until Naruto had mastered it, occasionally giving small tips after repeatedly insulting the boy's intelligence. Having been banned from brothels, however, by his own reputation, Jiraiya had nothing to do but train. With little patience, he grew increasingly frustrated with the time that everything took. Naruto often challenged him by asking how long it took Jiraiya to master each technique, and whenever there was an answer Naruto pointed out he was learning everything faster then Jiraiya, himself, had. Naruto would have lost patience, himself, with Jiraiya's attitude... if it weren't for the memory of a certain conversation they'd had when they first started speed training.

"Your taijutsu is good, boy, but not good enough to overcome your greatest close-in weakness," Jiraiya grumbled. Then, it had been just a month since he had last gone peeping or went to a brothel, and he was starting to show symptoms of withdrawl. "You need to work on speed."

"I'm already faster then you," Naruto complained. "And my taijutsu's better, too. Why can't I work on new techniques, instead?"

"You think that, just because you're better then me, you're good enough?" Jiraiya snorted. "Let me give you a clue, boy. You have stated your intention of becoming hokage. That, I think, you could manage if you were my equal or better... but you have more goals then that in mind, and it isn't enough to meet any of them. You want to fight Sasuke, right? To beat him down until he goes back to Konoha, right? Well, think of it this way -- he's got the sharingan. With the sharingan, he should improve faster then you do when he trains. Furthermore, think of his current master -- Orochimaru. You need to beat Orochimaru, too, right?"

"I need to beat Orochimaru first," Naruto agreed. "Otherwise... rescuing Sasuke will be meaningless."

"Perhaps," Jiraiya agreed. "But know this. I'm the best fighter in all of Konoha -- you won't find anyone who can even come close to matching me. Tsunade's number two. Way down the list, your sensei Kakashi is probably number three. The problem is... even if all three of us were to concentrate all of our skill against Orochimaru, we would lose. My spies have also mentioned something to me I found rather disturbing -- Orochimaru left Akatsuki because he realized he could never match Itachi in battle, and feared him. Akatsuki is targetting you, and you know that, so you have to worry about how good the fighters are in that organization. So, that's my aim, Naruto-kun -- I'm not trying to make you as good as me, or even better then me. I'm trying to make you better then Itachi!"

With that declaration, all protest fell off of Naruto's lips. He would still protest at being called an idiot when he was getting the techniques down faster then Jiraiya had, but he never complained about being _expected_ to be better. Praise was rare, but he wouldn't complain about that, either. Now that he knew the goal, and just how far away the goal was, he knew he wasn't learning fast enough. In fact, he wondered if this simple birthday celebration would take too much of his time from training.

However, he never let his worries distract him from good food -- and these odangos were good, even if they weren't ramen. Lost in his enjoyment of the dish, he almost didn't notice when four burly ninjas bearing the forehead protectors of the Rock entered the cafe, chatting with each other softly. One of him saw Naruto, sitting alone (as Jiraiya was over chatting up the waitresses -- despite his inability to safely access his regular supply of brothels, he wasn't entirely deprived of company of the female persuasion... it was just harder for him to obtain it), and pointed him out to his friends.

As a group, the four Rock nin walked over to his table. "Hey, kid, mind if we sit here?"

Naruto eyed them suspiciously. "You aren't trying to steal my odango, are you?"

The oldest of the bunch -- probably a jounin, if the Rock teams were organized anything like the Konoha nin were -- laughed and took a seat, accepting that as an invitation. "No, we won't. We just want to talk to you."

"I don't trust strangers," Naruto snorted.

"That's okay," the Rock jounin replied. "We aren't asking you to trust us, or to do anything. We just want you to listen to us."

"Go ahead," Naruto said with a dismissive shrug. "Talk. I might listen, I might not... I might call my sensei over so that the two of us can tear you all apart."

"Call him. We probably want to talk with him, too."

Naruto squinted, thinking. "Hmm... no, probably not a good idea to bring him over right now. Say what you want, and say it to me."

"You're a homeless nin, aren't you?" the Rock jounin asked. "I'm Agate Ken, special jounin for the Rock. It's been years since we last had a recruiting drive, but you're in luck -- we're looking for as many homeless and unemployed nin as possible at the moment, so I'm authorized to request that you join us."

"And why would I want to?" Naruto asked. "My home is gone, but there's always a chance of restoring it."

Agate frowned. "It takes more than a lone genin to restore a nation, boy."

"I'm better then just about any genin you can think of," Naruto grinned. "I just haven't been promoted, yet, for... well, obvious reasons."

"You are, huh? So, where are you from -- or rather, where were you from?" Ken asked.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the jounin. He didn't like the man -- there was something about his arrogant tone and dismissal of his dreams. It was just like during the chuunin exam, when first Kiba and then Neji kept saying he was never going to win. Still, he had to give an answer, and he had to maintain cover.

"I come from the land of Shattered Glass, and the Hidden Village of Rainbow."

Sitting off to the side, one of the other Rock nin gasped slightly. He was Toshio Kagai, and while he was currently a chuunin at one point he was an elite jounin in the Village of Rainbow. Then a war with the Grass began, storming through their land. The Grass were one of those powerful ninja villages that were in the second tier down from the five Kage villages, while the Village of Rainbow was a small town with under fifty active ninjas at any one time, intended not to fight wars but to provide some sort of protection for the nobility and wealthy of the land. He knew everyone from Rainbow by sight, and he knew of no-one who looked like this boy in any of the families of that town. Nor anyone who looked even remotely like his sensei, who he supposed was the other homeless nin, sitting over by the waitresses trying to chat them up. Obviously, these 'homeless nin' were spies -- a common tactic, but one rarely discovered. Homeless nin were typically left alone, because of the risk of them not being who they said they were, but they were too useful as potential recruits to attack without proof of subterfuge. In this case, however, he had caught them by luck.

Toshio opened his mouth to say something, but he was beaten to it by his jounin sensei. "Rainbow?" the man said, laughing. His laughter grew to the point that he was clutching his belly. "That tiny little piece of trash shack pretending it was a village? The Grass did everyone a favor when they wiped it off the face of the planet. Rainbow was a disgrace to the name of ninja! Why, I--"

He didn't get another word out of his mouth before a fist had knocked him across the restaurant and through the wall behind him. Toshio blinked, amazed. "What--"

Ignoring the look of shock on the faces of the three remaining Rock nin, and the look of frustration present on Jiraiya's face, Naruto stepped up from the table. "I don't care who you are, or where you are from," Naruto declared, moving towards Agate in a deliberate pace, fists clenching. "Nor would I care whether my home was just a couple families living near each other or the largest of the kage powers. Families were lost. Friends were lost. I would not wish the entire destruction of any town on a person, for friends and family will fight for each other, protect each other, and deserve the chance to live together. Rainbow... does not deserve such insults, regardless of what size of a village it was, or what type of ninja it employed."

"Brat," the Rock jounin growled. "What do you, a mere genin, think you're doing challenging a full jounin like me?"

Jiraiya almost stepped out to stop the fight, but changed his mind. He would intervene if the situation got too bad, but right now he didn't need to -- it would be a good chance to see where Naruto was, at any rate. He leaned back against an undamaged part of the wall to watch the fight.

Toshio decided to hold his ground as well. Who was this person? Why was he so angry at the insult to Rainbow? Was he really a survivor, and Kagai just didn't know him? No -- that was impossible. He had known everyone from that town, not just the ninja -- there was never a single blond in the entire village, and its destruction was too recent for him to have been born after Rainbow fell. But then... if he weren't Rainbow, then where was he from?

"I'm no ordinary genin," Naruto bragged, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "I have made too many promises, lately, that are hard to fulfill. I will make another one now, thanks to you -- while I may never be able to restore Rainbow, I will see that any of the Rainbow -- and any other homeless ninja -- are given a place which they can claim as a home... and unite against assholes like you!"

Agate snorted. "Kiss my ass, genin. Ordinary or not, you cannot beat jounin. Give up now, before I kill you."

Naruto shook his head. "Genin, chounin, jounin, ANBU, even kage -- it doesn't matter. I will not give up. And you will lose."

"Try it."

Naruto grinned. "Okay. Kanashibari no jutsu!"

_That's an ANBU technique!_ Toshio thought to himself in shock. _What kind of kid is this. And... whose side am I on in this fight? The Rock nin, who insult my home, or the boy, who wishes to restore it but who is travelling in disguise?_

Agate was frozen. He recognized this technique -- it was, indeed, an ANBU technique, shared by just about every ninja village's ANBU, designed to temporarily paralyze anyone of any power level, so as to bring them in for questioning. It wasn't perfect, given how easy it was to defend against... but he hadn't expected such a young brat to be able to produce it. He would be able to move again in a second or two, but before he could he knew any half-decent ninja would make a move.

"I could finish you right now," Naruto said. "But I don't want to just finish you. I want to humiliate you, to punish you for insulting the Rainbow who lost their lives for no other reason then where they lived."

Agate felt himself released from the paralysis technique, and staggered back. Realizing what the boy had said, he grinned. _Oh, boy -- not only is this kid an arrogant prick from a nothing-town like Rainbow, he's an idiot as well. Any reasonably intelligent person would have killed me right there... but I guess I don't have to worry about him being 'reasonably intelligent,' then._

"My turn. Doton! Doryuu taiga!"

The ground underneath Naruto turned into mud, and started flowing like a river, trying to knock him off balance... but Naruto remained standing. With a grin, he said, "Is that it? This is easier then standing on a river!"

The jounin's eyes narrowed. "Boy, you-- oof!" Before he could see what happened, a leg was in his gut, kicking him away like he was nothing. A second followed up, cracking his ribs in the process... and a third came pretty close to collapsing a lung. By then, he couldn't defend himself, so the shot to the jaw was enough to knock him out.

Toshio and the other two Rock nin couldn't help but stare at the crushing power demonstrated by this unknown fighter. Had any genin ever obtained such power, before, from any nation?

Naruto turned to his master and grinned, giving him a wink. "How was I, sensei?"

"Slow," was all Jiraiya would say, looking angry about something.

The two Rock nin with Toshio looked at the older nin in horror, but Toshio kept his concentration on the younger one in front of him. "Just who are you?"

Naruto shrugged. "I have been called many things. A drop-out, dead last, idiot, talentless, slow, and more. If you want a name... I answer to Naruto."

Toshio nodded slowly. "I see. Well, as poor of a job as Ken-san was doing of it, he did speak one truth. The Rock are looking for good people -- people of your obvious talent level. From what you say, you are... unlikely to be able to join us, however." Naruto said nothing in reply, so he went on, "The Rock have prepared scrolls to give to potential recruits, to teach you some of our more common techniques -- techniques we know other nations already have. If you choose to join the Rock, more advanced techniques along the same lines will be taught to you. We are not supposed to give these scrolls to anyone but those who we believe might actually join us, but... if you swear you will use these techniques to do as you say, and to build a place where the Rainbow and other homeless nin can find their families again, I will give them to you."

Naruto blinked. "I... what is your name, so I know who to thank?"

"Toshio Kagai," Kagai stated, handing over the scrolls. "Of the Rainbow."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, watching the man hand over the scrolls. He detected no deception in him, however, as he left with his companions, taking their jounin instructor with them as they left. When they were out of eye and earshot, he turned to his student and sighed.

"Well, might as well get this part of it out of the way, first. What scroll did he give us?"

Naruto looked at them in surprise. "He didn't just give us one. He gave us five. Earth Dragon Missile, Earth Wall, Earth Armor, the Inner Decapitation technique -- which Sasuke told me once that Kakashi performed on him during our bell test -- and... this one isn't really an Earth Element Technique."

"Well, what is it?" Jiraiya complained impatiently.

"A summoning contract... for, um..."

"For?" Jiraiya said, curious.

"It seems to summon a shuriken," Naruto explained. "But the shuriken... isn't a shuriken. I don't know what it is -- I don't recognize the kanji -- but it's some kind of creature which is, in the process of summoning, transformed into a shuriken."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "They're giving that one away?"

"No..." Naruto said, looking at the seal. "I... I think _he _was, however. Look at the seal on this contract -- this is a Rainbow technique."

Jiraiya looked at the contract for a moment before sighing. "You may have saved us some trouble, there, by starting that fight, but you almost blew our cover... _and_ lost your temper, again." Naruto doubled over as his master's large fist smacked meatily into his gut. "You _have_ to stop losing your temper, boy! This is important."

Naruto looked up at him, confused and uncertain. "Wha... why? Why did you hit me?"

Jiraiya pulled him away from the restaurant -- ignoring the manager who was trying to get someone to pay for the damage, but was unwilling to actually confront the pair -- to where he couldn't be overheard. "Listen, Naruto. We're done here in Rock territory. Tomorrow, we'll start back to Konoha. We'll be going the long way, so we'll probably still have to maintain our cover for a few months until we're outside of the area the Rock are known to patrol. We'll be home after your next birthday."

Naruto grinned wistfully, forgetting the pain he'd just been given. "Home... with Kakashi, and Iruka, and the Ichiraku, and the old hag, and... Sakura-chan... um, and everyone else, as well. It'll be good to be home, again."

Jiraiya sighed. "For some of us, perhaps. However, we'll be learning the entire time we move. I'll take the scrolls first, but you'll be allowed to read them when I'm done. I'll also try figuring out a few other things to teach you, and we'll be visiting some of our allied states to see what they may be willing to teach, as well. By one month's time before we are back in Konoha, Naruto, I expect you to know enough techniques to qualify for your dream of becoming hokage."

Naruto's face lit up, looking at his master in astonishment. A year ago, he would have started bouncing around and cheering at the announcement, but he had matured (a little) since then, and so merely did the backflips and shouts of joy in his mind... annoying the kyuubi, but by that point the kyuubi was used to being annoyed. In that, too, he had progressed -- he now had much more control over his kyuubi chakra, and he could now consciously pull out the kyuubi to fight alongside him, in his chakra, as he had unconsciously when fighting Sasuke by the waterfall. It no longer burned his hands to fight that way, and his natural chakra capacity had increased to the point it was almost equal to the kyuubi's. Therefore, instead of constantly treating the boy as an inferior, the kyuubi now recognized him as an equal... and was learning to accept human mastery with more grace then should have been expected. "Really?" he finally said, when he felt he could trust his voice not to crack.

"Yes," Jiraiya confirmed. "But in that last month, I'm going to be teaching you a powerful kinjutsu... a forbidden technique. It will be very important that you know not to use that technique until you master your temper, because if you lose your cool and perform it recklessly... well, let's just say I don't think anyone will like the results."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Ero-sennin," he launched, grinning cheekily. "You don't understand me as well as you think I do. I never use a technique unless I have to... so even if I 'lost my temper,' sensei, I would not use a kinjutsu to ill effect."

"Let's hope so, Naruto-kun," Jiraiya sighed. "Because while I think I've finally drilled good control of your chakra into your head, I don't think there'll be time to drill good control of your emotions, as well... but I fear you will need this technique, someday, so I am obligated to teach it while I can."

Naruto nodded, then dusted his hands off. "Well, I just had a nice light spar and a good meal, but I think it's time we get back to training, don't you?" He smiled. "I've still got about four hundred techniques to learn... to qualify for hokage."

* * *

Notes: Well, it's done... and actually faster then I thought it would be. This chapter doesn't advance the romantic aspects of the plot any, does it? But it does bring in certain important things, and not just the new techniques learned. It also concludes the 'Naruto's journey' arc, since you now know everything. The kinjutsu Jiraiya was talking about is supposed to be the same 'that technique' he was warning Naruto not to use before the most recent manga story arc. Whether it actually shows up in this fic, though, is another matter entirely... and to say either way would be spoilers, wouldn't it? As a point, so far whenever I've used a technique not names in the manga, I've not named that technique in Japanese (which I'm only doing during the performance of that technique, anyway... and you'll notice I never named Ino's techniques, nor Sakura's, beyond a 'chattable' word for them (i.e., you could be chatting about this great new summoning technique you learned, but you wouldn't necessarily chant its name as kuchiyose no jutsu)). Well, I did introduce one technique in this chapter which I may call upon in Japanese in a future time -- the Earth Armor. The chant will be Doton -- doyoroi no jutsu, and essentially what it does is slaps mud on you and hardens it to the point it can stop a kunai (though it probably wouldn't stop anything of a more heavy-duty nature). As described in this chapter, if you use the technique and cover yourself up, you might be able to deal with some fire element techniques... maybe. How effective that technique will be, well, we'll see later. Anyway, I still expect to finish Vol. 2 by the end of the week, but it may be a day or two before I can start writing that final chapter. Very busy with 'real life,' as it were, for the next couple of days. 


	10. V2 Chapter 7

Volume 2

Notes: I had a grumble or two about the last chapter, and how I made Naruto too strong because of his immense chakra. I don't agree with that, but I can understand where it comes from, so I think I'd better explain my thoughts on it. Naruto can, as of the fight with Gaara, access the kyuubi's chakra at will (as seen when he first encounters Akatsuki in his hotel room) -- it gives him very rapid healing and immense stamina. It does not, however, make him superior to those around him. His body was dissolving from the intense amount of chakra he was using in the fight with Sasuke by the waterfall, but even so... he was not equal in strength to the Kyuubi. The unprecidented amount of chakra he generates does not give him the kyuubi's strength and durability, nor does it give him his reflexes, size, force of blow, or skills. What it does do is give him limitless power to fight with, increasing his stamina to the point where he may never run fully out of chakra (by this point in the story, at least). Harnessing that power, however, is still his job -- even if he has the same amount of energy as the kyubi, and can use that energy without limit, he still has limits on his powers because his techniques don't let him use as much power as the kyuubi could in its natural form. There simply aren't any human techniques to match what the kyuubi could throw out. Therefore, even though he had such immense power at his disposal, he was STILL weaker then Orochimaru, and therefore still weaker then Akatsuki. In fact, by the end of this volume, I'm estimating Naruto will have just over 1,000 techniques at his disposal and limitless chakra, but he'll still only be at Orochimaru's level and not at Itachi's. But then, I also expect him to grow in the current manga arc (which I am making certain assumptions as to how it will go, the assumptions being the base of some experiences at the start of Volume 3) to the point where maybe, he could match with most Akatsuki members one-on-one... though possibly not Itachi. In terms of comparing just how much chakra the kyuubi has in comparison with others, I'd say the fourth was about equal, though not necessarily an exact match (otherwise, the sealing technique wouldn't have worked, given how the technique seemed to work between the Third and Orochimaru). I'd also say that Kyuubi's powers likely atrophied, somewhat, during the period from Naruto taking him in the seal and the fight with Haku and Zabuza on the bridge, where kyuubi was finally able to 'flex his muscles' again. He's being used a lot more, though, so I figure you could set his chakra amount at just about even with the Fourth. Which means Naruto is about double the fourth's chakra, at the moment. As a very minor spoiler (only because it's not explained in any way -- if it were, it would be a major spoiler), I'll reveal that Kyuubi's own chakra will be greatly weakened by an event taking place in Volume 3. Okay, that's all I've got to say about power levels... Here we go with the conlcusion to Sakura's story, and therefore Vol. 2. For point of reference, time wise, Vol. 2 is concluding both story arcs just over a year before Part 2 of the manga began, and Volume 3 will start a few days after the still uncompleted current manga arc. So there still will be a significant time gap between the two, but anything 'missing' from that period will likely be relayed in future chapters. By the way, because of a certain last-minute decision I made, this chapter will likely be longer then usual.

* * *

Chapter 7

SPECIAL NOTE: I would like to thank Kyo Tetsuei for promptly correcting my version of the name given to Ino's father. The name he gave me was WRONG (at least, according to his own reference), but I did look up the site he gave as a reference and found what was given (I, believing that since there was no name in the manga or the anime the character had no name, had given him 'Inosuke.' Kyo said it was Inoshi, but then directed me to a website which listed his name as Inoichi. Ack!). While normally I won't be doing this, since all that was required was a 'searchreplace' I decided to make a quick fix and post a corrected copy.

Sakura was quite surprised when she learned that just about every one of the 'rookie nine' in contact with the village was being given 'acting-chuunin' rankings for their next missions. Neji had already achieved the rank of chuunin through the Konoha-only tournament Tsunade had spoken of, and was being fast-tracked into the ranks of the jounin with an acting-jounin ranking. This eased the tension she felt at being given the promotion opportunity, but some awkwardness returned whenever she heard Naruto's name mentioned. It felt... unfair, to her, that she should be given a chance at promotion before him. He deserved it before he left on that training trip with Jiraiya, but he probably wouldn't be able to get it for some time after he returned. However, she didn't refuse the chance. The only person who had given any public indication that they might not leave on their chuunin-promotion mission was Hinata... and that was a rather indirect protest, at that. In fact, she wasn't the one who said anything, it was her father -- he complained that, if she left at that point, it would foul up some 'wedding plans' that were in the works. The hokage had directly intervened, in that case, and Hinata was allowed to go. Sakura wondered, at times, just whose wedding it was Hinata needed to attend, and what sort of excuse Tsunade gave to get the girl out of it. Sakura knew just how hard it was to turn the hokage down, and wondered if she could have stood her ground in Hinata's place... assuming Hinata really wanted to stay in the first place. Sakura wondered about that, too.

Still, she was feeling more and more ready for it. Ino had -- a little reluctantly -- agreed to join her on the mission, accepting it as 'probably her only chance at promotion,' since she felt entirely inadequate for tournament-style competition. And the mission hadn't started, yet, despite her having recieved... well, at least some of the details a month ago. Tsunade was being tight-lipped about quite a few things, which lead Sakura to wonder just what was going on. However, the mission had yet to start -- and Kakashi, despite a brief appearance in town after delivering his reports to the office of the hokage, had left again before she had a chance to see him.

Ino was on Sakura's mind, however. The blond girl had almost gotten over her Naruto problems, save an unusual affinity for the Ichiraku Ramen Restaurant... which Sakura was glad to take her to (using Naruto's money) from time to time. However, that meant they were being drawn into conflicts more and more often, and it was starting to get a little difficult to live with her. Not so difficult she was thinking of moving any time soon, but difficult enough that Sakura began to wonder if maybe they should start setting some ground rules with each other. Something like 'no fighting before breakfast' might be enough, perhaps, if paired with 'no fighting after curfew.' After all, both girls needed their beauty sleep.

Their training together was going fairly well, and the two of them were practicing to work together. At one point, Sakura had a training idea in mind, where they would work together against an obstacle course developed by the always helpful (if not always sane) Gai, with the assistance of Ino's own jounin instructor, Asuma. The two jounin, together, created an obstacle course which was nearly impossible to finish -- they even tried working with Lee and Neji, once, to see if they could get through it. There wasn't much success on their part, and the course was starting to gain a reputation among the more training-oriented members of Konoha's ninja community. Sakura and Ino, being the most experienced at running it, were the record holders of the events... but that record had been set in a rather unusual way.

Sakura had wanted to try it in a team of three. They were arguing back and forth over whether to take Neji (Ino's favorite, since he was obviously the most powerful ninja present who would train with them) or Lee (Sakura's favorite -- she knew Neji was the better fighter, but she suspected Lee's speed and style would serve them better... and the felt that Neji might not be quite as good in the teamwork department as Konoha's 'Green Beast') when Sakura said, "This would be a lot easier if Naruto were here. I'm pretty sure we could both work with him!"

"Well," Ino said, smirking. "Why don't we? Kage bushin no jutsu! Henge!"

In less then a second, a second Ino appeared. The second Ino transformed instantly into a replica of Naruto -- a twelve year old Naruto, who looked even shorter then usual. It took a moment for Sakura to realize the shadow clone was, in fact, the right size -- she had grown, was all. She wondered, vaguely, if Naruto had grown any, and if so, had he caught up to her. Ino had split her 'Naruto' psyche into it, and a surprising thing happened. The clone gained, for a brief time, the same mannerisms and attitude as the real Naruto -- which wasn't the surprising bit, really -- and then started complaining about how he would become hokage, dammit, even if he was a shadow clone! It seemed, as odd as it sounded, as if the Shadow Naruto was free-thinking.

What was even more amazing was that it didn't disappear into a puff of smoke when it was hit. It persevered, and it helped them get farther along the course then anyone had ever managed, before. Finally, however, he ran completely out of chakra, lacking any ability to generate his own, and disappeared. Sakura and Ino both felt the pain of loss when he disappeared, since having him around was like having the real Naruto -- who they both were missing, terribly -- keep them company. Ino tried to rebuild the lost clone right away, but she'd drained herself of too much chakra running the course to manage a proper shadow clone of herself, much less to transform it and give it a copy of Naruto's personality. Nevertheless, they figured that Ino had developed -- thanks to her mindwalking skills -- a brand new technique. They had yet to decide what to call it, but both of them figured it could be quite useful in the future.

Ino had talked her way into getting a couple D-rank 'tune-up' missions before their journey to Wave Country with the hokage (claiming she didn't really need the experience, but she could use the cash to buy a new dress she had her eye on), leaving Sakura the apartment all to herself. It had been a long time since she'd been able to get away by herself for any decent length of time, so she was definitely glad of it. It was a bit of a disappointment, therefore, when the doorbell rang just as she was thinking about how nice it would be to take a shower without having Ino banging on the bathroom door to 'finish up' after just three minutes. She checked herself to make sure she was still presentable, fixed the zipper on her blouse she'd started to unzip in anticipation of her shower, and opened the door.

"Inoichi-san!" she jumped, seeing a light-brown haired man standing at her door. One of the things Sakura had learned never to tease her rival and friend about was that she had been named after her father, but it made for confusing times when the two of them were in the room together. With her roommate gone, though, the confusion was eliminated. "I... come in, come in! What are you doing here?"

The man hesitated, then bowed his head through the door (it was a bit low, but niether Sakura nor Ino-chan were tall enough for that to bother them. It helped them get a better deal on the condo, too) and closed it behind him. "Is... is my daughter here?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head slowly. "She went on a D-rank mission to the farmlands earlier today, and likely won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Did you want to talk with her?"

The man hesitantly nodded. "I did, and do, but since she's not here I would also like to talk with you. I haven't seen her -- neither my mother nor I have seen her -- since she stormed out of our house that night..."

"I don't blame her," Sakura muttered, letting a little of the anger she felt at the man out. "She had been badly rocked by her mindwalking technique, and you yelled at her for it."

"I know," Inoichi sighed, collapsing onto one of the two cushioned chairs the apartment had. Sakura considered standing, but decided to join him by taking the other one. "I was ashamed of myself even that night, since I know just what that technique can do to its user. I never should have taught it to her at such a young age -- it's just barely not considered a kinjutsu, you understand. But she'd told me, once, that she felt like a 'part-time ninja,' because her techniques were so useless outside of very specific situations, so her jounin instructor was forced to turn down a lot of missions because they just couldn't handle them. So, I gave her a couple new techniques, hoping that it would help her feel a bit less useless... and she was too inexperienced with them to know the dangers."

Sakura nodded. She could understand how both Yamanakas felt, but even more she knew exactly why Ino-chan had decided to use the technique anyway. She, herself, had been very tempted to use techniques she wasn't ready to try during the early stages of her medi-nin training. It was only after seeing what a failure could do that she stopped pushing Tsunade to allow her the chance to 'test this technique I've been studying' before she had really seen just what that technique could do.

"She wasn't ready for it," Sakura agreed. "But, in the end, I think she's much stronger now then she was, before. Naruto's psyche has changed her, yes, but for the better."

The man's face twisted into a grimmace. "Just how the hell could that dem-- brat do anything for her? He's a menace to us all, and he should have been killed the day he was born!"

Ino's father was an elite jounin of Konoha. As such, he should have been immensely faster and more powerful then any genin in the village, even one about to become chuunin. It was a shock to him, therefore, when he felt himself slapped so hard he went flying out of the chair.

"You bastard," Sakura snapped dangerously. "Have you even _met_ Naruto? I don't know exactly what's going on in this village -- I was blind for way too long -- but I know now that the people here have had a grudge against him since the day he was born. He's been spat upon, stoned, hated, and ostracized... and yet all he does is put his life on the line to save all our lives time and time again. Why? Just tell me, why? Does it have something to do with the Uzumaki clan? I've been going through my family scrolls, and apparently both of our families were allied to his. In fact, the blond hair in your family line comes from some intermingling between your two clans! But if I ever try and look up information on that clan in the hokage's records -- you know, the archives which are supposed to contain all of the information Konoha has ever collected? -- I come up with nothing. Was the Uzumaki clan disgraced, and is that why you all hate him? Tell me, because I'm starting to get really sick of people talking this way of the boy who saved all of our asses from Gaara. I'm sick of people talking this way of the boy who tracked down the traitorous 'golden child' of this village, Uchiha Sasuke, and nearly let himself die just so he could keep a promise to me that he would bring Sasuke back. I love Sasuke-kun, still, but even I am starting to get sick of how this village treated him, when I realize that Naruto had to deal with the same problems, and for much longer, yet all he got was people wish him dead. Ino was sickened by you... and I am, too. So speak up -- what is so horrible about Naruto that you can't stand his guts!"

Inoichi trembled. He wasn't used to seeing anyone defend the demon with such passion, before. Yes, he'd been told off once or twice by both the Third and the Fifth for being too hard on the beast, and the Ichiraku Ramen wouldn't serve him any more after his daughter had explained what she'd seen him due to the boy, but that was to be expected. The hokage's were always too soft on the thing, he'd known, because it looked so much like the Fourth... and Naruto was the best customer at the Ichiraku. His own daughter, in what he believed was a burst of insanity, had defended the creature, as well, but not even she had been this furious. It made no sense!

Shakily, he stood up, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips. "That... thing is a danger, and that is all I can saw and stay within the law. It has nothing to do with the Uzumaki clan, however -- I, at least, still hold that clan in the highest respects. I just refuse to acknowledge that 'Naruto' thing as part of it."

Something about the way he kept referring to Naruto clicked with a conversation Sakura had discussed with her mother, previously. "Naruto has a greater demon inside him, doesn't he?"

Inoichi's eyes widened. "I... I am not permitted to say what it is, but--"

"Shut up," Sakura snorted in disgust. "Do you know _why_ your daughter was contracted for the job to search Naruto's mind? Because Gaara went through the same hell as Naruto, and it drove him insane. Naruto beat the hell out of him, and beat him back to sanity... and he wanted to know just how Naruto stayed sane, so that he could as well. And you know why Gaara went crazy in the first place? Because jackasses like you heaped abuse upon him... just for something he had no control over. Do you know how remarkable Naruto is, _not _because of the demon, but because he's managed to deal with your stupid bigotry all these years without going crazy? Do you want to know what Naruto's goal is in life? It's to become hokage -- so that he can protect everyone, and make everyone 'happy.' I know that much, already, from my own time with him. Your daughter has seen inside his mind, and she agrees with me. Are you so blinded by hatred that you won't even trust her?"

"You... you don't know anything," Inoichi replied. He spoke with a conviction he no longer had. In truth, his own daughter's reaction, more than a year before, had given him great doubt as to his own beliefs regarding the kyuubi-infested boy. He had repeated the mantra in his head, daily, that Naruto was nothing but a beast, a monster, and so he continued to believe so. Even if he was wrong, the danger was too great to allow the boy a chance to prove himself, because if they did and the boy proved to be the demon, Konoha would be destroyed the moment he lost his temper. "The beast--"

"_Is not Naruto!_ Naruto controls the damned demon, you idiot, and all you're doing is making it harder for him to do so!"

Suddenly, realization hit the man like a ton of bricks. Even if Naruto was a demon, he had been living side-by-side with human beings in Konoha for many years. He had grown among them, and now was respected by some of them. But if he was the demon, and he decided to extract vengeance, who would he target? His playmates, who cared for him and helped him all those years -- including his daughter and Sakura -- or the people who harrassed him, hated him, and repeatedly stated he shouldn't be allowed to live. And if Naruto wasn't the demon...

Still. "May I... may I walk in your mind?" he asked hesitantly, not able to meet the fierce glare which had been directed at him for quite some time. "I will do nothing harmful, but I just... I don't know Naruto. I admit that. I also know the demon inside him, and that beast is more horrible then anything my worst nightmares can come up with. Between you and my daughter, though, I am convinced that I may not be right about him. I would like to... I would like to see just what it is that makes him worth the efforts the two of you are putting forth to protect him."

There were only two things that stopped Sakura from refusing immediately. The first, and most obvious, was that he was no threat to her -- thanks to her practice with Ino-chan, she had managed to train up her Overlay Persona to make herself nearly invulnerable to mental attacks. The second was that, for the first time, he had made a distinction between Naruto and the demon. Assuming it really was a demon -- there was something inside Naruto, that was for sure, but Inoichi had yet to confirm that it was a demon, specifically, that they were all worried about. Nevertheless, whatever it was didn't really matter -- Naruto was still Naruto, regardless of what lived inside him.

"You may, on one condition," Sakura said, staring coldly at him. "You know what family I am from, you know what we can do. When you go into my memories... I'm going to be right there with you, explaining just what went on each and every time Naruto did something you might not agree with. Got it?"

Sakura's memories of Naruto were not as full as she would like. She had been concentrating on Sasuke much too often, but she did have some things she was able to show during the mindwalk. She gave a guided tour of her memories of Naruto, starting with the bell training, some stupidity he showed during d-class missions, his first real fight where he was frozen in terror, his declaration never to run again. Not a single question was asked of her, even through the battle at the bridge with Zabuza and Haku. All the way until he saw Gaara, half-transformed and slobbering over the thought of killing. It was here that he paused it for the first time.

"_This_ is what we are afraid of Naruto becoming," he said.

"_This,_" Sakura replied, a slight sneer in her voice. "Was caused because the villagers of the Sand treated Gaara the same way you treat Naruto. This is why Naruto is so extraordinary -- he endures, refusing to succomb to _this,_ and all you people do is hate him for it."

That ended the discussion right there, and Inoichi left her memories. He stared across at the girl, now knowing just how wrong he had been. "I would like to see more, some time," he said, sighing. "But I already have much to think about."

"Ask your daughter for that," Sakura replied. "I am ashamed at how little I paid attention to Naruto over the years I've known him, but she has all his memories inside of her. That would tell you more than I ever could."

With a slow nod, the man agreed. "I will. Which reminds me why I've come here, today. I knew that my daughter needed time, away from me, to adjust to the stress on her psyche that the mindwalk produced, so I was waiting until she seemed capable of resuming her missions. That it has taken over a year for her to get back into service was... unexpected. Now that she finally has, however, I feel that I may be able to talk with her without harming her recovery, and I would like to do so. Could I ask you to tell her that I want to see her when she gets back from her chuunin-level mission? I want to... apologize, and to offer to help train her again. I feel as if I should try and give her the tools to make a recovery from something like this easier, in the future."

Sakura nodded. "I will give her the message, but I won't try to persuade her, either way. If she wants to join you... she will."

* * *

As it turned out, Sakura didn't have a chance to speak with Ino-chan for quite some time. By the time she had returned from her D-rank mission, word had come that the hokage was ready for her trip and had requested that they be ready by the next morning. What followed was a rush of preparations, as both girls prepared for the long journey to the Wave. By the time they were done, both of them were exhausted and simply collapsed into their beds for the night without a word to each other. The next morning they rushed to the rendezvous before they were too late.

Sakura was astonished at how many people were coming along. Shizune was being left behind to run things in Tsunade's absense, but she was more than offset by the troop of eight older genins that were present. She didn't recognize the genins, and they all looked relatively out-of-shape for active ninja of their age, but they were still genin and therefore had at least a basic training in combat. It puzzled her greatly, but the hokage decided to answer her question before she could even ask it.

"Meet who you're really coming along to escort. Me? I'm hokage, I can take care of myself, but these people aren't used to serious combat like you are."

That clued Sakura in right away. "Oh! Administrative genin. But... why are they coming? I mean, there's almost a dozen of them here -- do you really need that many just to sign a treaty?"

"No," Tsunade replied. "I don't. However, we've hired the Wave to, ah, build something for us. These genin are going to be stationed there to help look over the construction as it happens. We have construction foremen, an architect, and a few others here, as well. While all of them graduated from the Academy, not a single one managed to advance past that level. It takes much longer to prepare yourself for promotion on the administrative path, so this is actually the first time doing any _real_ work for all of them. That doesn't really matter, though -- they aren't there to build the thing by themselves, just to help and get some experience along the way."

"Ah," Ino said, joining in on the conversation. "So what are they building?"

Tsunade hesitated. "I... well, I can't tell you right now."

Sakura grinned cheekily. "Tsunade-shishou, by now, surely you realize I can keep a secret."

If the hokage flushed, no-one else would have noticed it. Sakura, however, did... and she immediately knew she had her master pinned.

"I... Sakura-chan, please," Tsunade begged. "I know you can keep a secret -- trust me, I _know_ -- but this isn't the sort of thing I can reveal even to someone I trust. It's one thing not to reveal a secret, it is another not to act upon it."

Ino frowned, wondering if maybe she should use her mental techniques to surreptitiously glean the information from the hokage's mind, anyway. She hated when people kept secrets from her, even though she understood why they were kept. However, the hokage _was_ the hokage, after all, and perhaps she had her reasons. There was one reason, perhaps, she might not respect.

"Is this about Sasuke?" Ino asked.

"No," Tsunade replied, leaving no doubt in either girl's mind that she was telling the truth.

"Uh... okay," Ino said, deciding to just leave the matter alone for now. The hokage was easily accessible -- if, at any time, she still felt the need to go traipsing through Tsunade's mind to find out whatever secret was being held, she could do so.

Tsunade looked at the two of them expectantly. "Well? You're the squad leaders for this mission. Get your teams into formation and let's get a move on!"

That, effectively, prevented Sakura from talking to Ino for the entire trip. As squad leaders, they couldn't talk with each other, very much. Instead they had to deal with their own out-of-shape and undertrained genins, reminding them of where they were supposed to be while marching in formation and helping them organize a makeshift mess and set up camp when mealtimes came around. Ino's team had the point position, and Sakura's the rear guard. It was tiring work -- much more tiring then just marching along like the good little genin they were used to being. At the end of each day, both girls were worn out to the point of complete exhaustion, and it was a trial just to wake themselves and their genins up in the morning. Sakura wondered how in the world Kakashi had done it all the time that he was training Naruto, back before the boy had started coming into his own as a... reasonably competent ninja. In fact, she realized, Naruto grew into a decent ninja on this same journey, less then four years before. Life and death situations do a lot for a person, she supposed.

Thanks to the lower stamina and training of the administrative genin, the journey took almost two weeks longer then the time Sakura last made it. Finally, however, they made it to the small port town which doubled as both a harbor and the boarding houses for people to wait in before taking the long journey across the bridge. As long as it was, a normal hiker would need an hour or so to walk across it, but even though the genin were incompetent they still weren't normal hikers.

However, Sakura didn't get a chance to see what her genin could do before Tsunade called a halt.

"Okay, boys and girls," she said, smirking. "The Prime Minister of Wave, Tazuna-san, has made arrangement for you genin to stay here for the next few months. The rest of us will be with you, today, but then we've got other business across the bridge to take care of. Sakura! Ino! Take charge of your squadrons and make sure they're properly billeted, then you're off for the rest of the day. Have fun." She looked over at a brand-new looking pachinko parlor across from the hotel. "Sadly, I can't make any IOUs on this trip, and I'm low on cash, but I think I'll spend the next hour or so over there, anyway. I've got enough for the penny-anty games." Sakura twitched at this display of irresponsibility from her hokage, who just happened to also be her master, who also just happened to be a good friend. Still, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

It didn't take long to get all the genin squared away, and after she and Ino were finished Sakura finally had some time alone with her.

"Can we go to lunch?" Sakura asked.

Ino nodded. "Sure! Give me a minute to get changed -- I may be a ninja, but I can't be seen in a restaurant wearing clothes I haven't been able to change in a week!"

Sakura laughed. "Same here. I'll have a quick shower and a change. Meet in the lobby in twenty minutes?"

Ino looked at her like she was crazy. "You can shower and change in twenty minutes? What are you, a boy?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "No. I'm someone whose roommate never allows her more than three minutes in the shower."

Ino had the grace to look embarrassed. "I guess I might have something to do with that, after all. Um, anyway, I need at least fourty minutes."

Sakura chuckled. "Fine. But don't be late!"

In fact, it only took both girls the twenty minutes Sakura had originally asked for to get ready. "So," Ino asked. "You've been here, before. Where's a good place to eat around here?"

"When I was here, this whole country was in the midst of a famine and economically depressed. There were no places to eat, then," Sakura snorted. "Now, it's a thriving center of commerce throughout the region, and, thanks to this bridge, well positioned as a centerpoint between the Cloud, the Mist, and Konoha. Just about everything, here, has been built or revamped over the past three years or so."

Ino shrugged. "Oh, well. I guess we can just walk down the street until we find something decent-looking."

They were a bit surprised to find, along the way, a place called the 'Naruto Ramen.' Laughing to themselves at the name, they figured they could eat there in tribute to their absent friend. It didn't take long to get seated, and finally settled into their orders.

"So," Ino said, enjoying the ramen with much more enthusiasm then she would have a couple years before, "What do you think of chuunin duty, so far?"

"It's exhausting," Sakura laughed. "But I think the extra pay will be worth it."

"I'll say." Ino smirked, slightly. "I've been thinking that, if we succeed here and get our promotions, I'll go celebrate with..."

"With?" Sakura prompted, curious. Her friend was blushing furiously, and she had no idea why.

"Well, I've been looking at some of the female ANBUs running around town," Ino explained. "Somehow, despite the formless uniforms they're required to wear, they still seem rather daringly sexy. I finally figured it out, though -- it's got to be the tattoos most of them wear. So... I was kinda thinking of getting a tattoo."

Sakura shrugged. While it was a bit rebellious for some civilian societies to get tattoos, in a ninja village like Konoha they were quite common -- a fashion statement which wasn't as dangerous as, say, dangling earrings (which could be used in battle to literally rip your ear off) or necklaces made of precious metals (while leather ones would typically break first, a chain or other form of metal necklace could easily be used to choke the wearer), yet served the same purpose as those civilian counterparts.

"So?" Sakura said, not understanding. "I was thinking of one, as well, but I was planning on it as a birthday present to myself when I turned eighteen. I was thinking of a stylized Konoha leaf, travelling down my left leg."

Ino grinned. "Not bad -- you do know how to look sexy, sometimes, after all, don't you?"

"Hey!"

"Actually, I was thinking of something a little more... daring."

Sakura blinked. "More daring?"

Ino tapped her bust proudly -- for she had developed in that area quite extensively over the past few months. She'd never be another Tsunade, but she could hold her own with many adults already, in that regard. "Yeah. Daring."

It took Sakura a moment to get what she meant, but when Ino tapped her hand against her chest, again, she finally understood. Wincing, she said, "We use traditional bamboo needles in Konoha. Wouldn't that... _hurt..._ there?"

"It'd be worth it," Ino answered, grinning. "When some boy finally gets a chance to unwrap the surprise. And I've heard of more painful places to get tattoos."

"So have I," Sakura giggled. "You got any boys in mind for that 'unwrapping,' yet?"

With a disgusted snort, Ino shook her head. "Like who? Neji's eyes are too creepy. Lee is... well, just too unique for my tastes. Shino's got that bug thing that I would _never_ be able to deal with -- and I think he's already arranged to marry some other girl, anyway. Kiba smells like a dog. Chouji eats too much. And Shikamaru... well, I suppose he's a nice enough guy, but he's really way too lazy, don't you think?"

Sakura laughed. "There's always Naruto -- I imagine you two would get along pretty good, too."

"Naruto would be a pretty good choice," Ino agreed. "Except he's unattainable. The only girl who stands a shot at him is you, really."

That implication caused Sakura to shift around a little uneasily. "Er... um..."

Deciding not to push _too _much, Ino laughed. "Maybe I need to start looking at younger men."

"Or older ones," Sakura shot back. "A few of the jounin look half-decent."

"Your jounin sensei -- Kakashi -- looks pretty good, actually," Ino chirped. "Knock a decade of age off of him, and I'd probably go for it."

Sakura wasn't listening. Instead, she was remembering a conversation she had, just before they'd left. She'd almost forgotten about it, but she needed to deliver the message Inoichi gave her.

"Your father stopped by while you were on that D-rank," Sakura said suddenly, knocking the humor out of both of them.

"Oh," Ino said, now studying her bowl of ramen as if it held all the answers.

"He wanted to apologize," Sakura continued. "And he wanted to help train you, again, so that you can deal with the mindwalking technique easier in the future. He also wanted to see the memories you have of Naruto."

Ino blinked, looking up. "He does? Why?"

"He saw my memories of him," Sakura explained. "And he's at the point where he can accept that maybe, the way he and everyone in the village has been treating Naruto is wrong. He's still uncertain, however, if Naruto is _safe,_ I think." She paused. "And I think he wants to understand, better, why his only daughter was willing to walk out of his life for someone he's always seen as a demon."

Ino's eyes widened. "You... what do you know?"

"I don't _know_ anything," Sakura replied. "I put two and two together, and figured out that people are afraid of something inside Naruto. Given a rather... unusual conversation I had with my mother, I'm guessing it's a greater demon. So, how right am I?"

Ino sighed. "It's illegal for me to say. I even had to give an oath of secrecy before entering Naruto's mind. I... it would go against my way of the ninja to say yes." She paused. "It would not go against it to say no, but that's all I'm saying."

Suddenly, Sakura laughed. "I get it. Anyway... what about your father?"

Ino shrugged. "I don't suppose your scrolls have any techniques which will help someone without the Overlay Persona protect their minds from a mindwalker, though, do you? I'm not sure I trust my father in this -- maybe I should, since I would in anything else, but dealing with Naruto's memories has left me a little... paranoid, when it comes to him."

"I understand completely," Sakura agreed. "I wouldn't have let him _near_ my mind if I didn't have the Overlay Persona to help me. When we get back, I'll look them up. If I find them, will you go see him?"

Again, Ino shrugged. "I suppose there would be no harm in giving him a chance, if I'm prepared." She grinned at the pink-haired girl. "Whatever happens, though, I'm not moving back in with my parents -- you'll still have to deal with three minute showers."

"If you'll agree to no fights before breakfast or after curfew any more, that'll be just fine with me," Sakura shot back. Both girls laughed, and then drifted on to discuss more pleasant things.

* * *

The next day, the two girls found their hokage staring at a dedication plaque mounted on the bridge. They came over to join her and read what it said alongside the woman.

"The Great Naruto Bridge

"Dedicated in the Name of a Boy,

"Who Came to This Land a Stranger

"Who Fought Against Those Stronger Than Himself For People He Did Not Know,

"And Who Sparked the Heart of the People of Wave,

"And Became A Hero,

"In the Hopes that, Like His Will, This Bridge Will Never Crumble."

An engraving vaguely recognizable as Naruto's head was below the text, his forehead protector proudly displaying his allegiance to Konoha. Below the sign was another plaque, listing the contributors who helped pay for the bronze plaque. Sakura and Ino both noticed the names of Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami along the top, and many other names she recognized as workers on the bridge further down the list. Knowing how much money a plaque like this would have cost, and how little money the people of Wave had when the bridge had been built, Sakura bowed her head to hide the pride she felt in Naruto, knowing just how much this would have meant to him. Ino, while having the same knowledge as Sakura, was not as aware of just how poor off the people had been in Wave. Still, she, too, was warmed by the dedication.

"Does that boy do this everywhere he goes?" Tsunade asked. "This wasn't in the reports, you know -- Kakashi only gave the basic details of each fight, not the specifics of the personal situations involved. It seems, though, that Naruto is more loved, here, then he is at home."

"Actually," Ino replied. "I think all of Team Seven left a mark, here. I've seen restaurants, hotels, and other businesses here named after Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and even Sakura."

Tsunade shook her head, then laughed. "Well, I guess this is good P.R. for Konoha, anyway." Pausing one last time to trace Naruto's face wistfully, she gestured for the two acting-chuunin to start crossing the bridge ahead of her. "Come on, we've got work to do. But there's a change of plan -- I met the Raikage last night, in the Pachinko Parlor. Turns out he's as addicted to gambling as I am, and he's worse at it to boot! He won't ever, though, go beyond penny-anty stuff. The coward. Anyway, I looked over the treaty, found that it was exactly as I had written it, and signed then. Which means we can get on to the second important matter we need to deal with, here -- I have a meeting with Tazuna-san, the recently elected Prime Minister of Wave, and the Daimyo. I need you two to act as my honor guard, so stay sharp. And we're walking, by the way, not running or jumping -- I don't want to get our clothes dirtied up right before an important meeting like this."

Walking the whole length of the bridge was actually more tiring for the three kunoichi then running it would have been, but at least the weather was temperate and there was a pleasant sea breeze coming off the water. Their clothes, indeed, remained clean... but their faces were a bit sweatier then they would have otherwise been. When Sakura saw who was waiting for them at the other end of the bridge, however, she knew it wouldn't have mattered.

"Tazuna-san!" she called, waving to him. He was dressed much as she remembered him, although his clothes were a bit newer and he was a bit more clean-shaven. She also noticed, as she got closer to him, that he no longer smelled of stale alcohol.

"Sakura-chan!" he shot back, his smile widening so great it almost split his face. "I didn't know you were going to be here!"

"Well, the hokage is my new master, so she asked me to come with her as her honor guard," Sakura explained.

"So, how are the others? Did Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto come with you?" Tazuna asked.

All three ninja women fell silent at that, and he noticed the awkwardness right away. Sakura, sighing, finally spoke up. "Well... Kakashi is on a mission by himself, and Naruto is on a training trip. Sasuke-kun is... is... uh."

Tsunade had mercy on her student. "Sasuke was poisoned," she explained. "It didn't kill him, but it has corrupted his mind, and he's fled Konoha. It was... unpleasant for just about everyone involved. Naruto tried to recapture Sasuke at one point, and was severely wounded -- it took months for him and those who joined him to recover."

"Naruto has promised to bring him back to me," Sakura finished throatily.

Tazuna's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Did he, now? Then I don't think you have anything to be afraid of. You'll get Sasuke-kun back. That boy... he won't give up."

"I know," Sakura agreed. "But that's why I'm afraid. Naruto and I are going to go, together, to bring Sasuke back. I'm afraid I'll give up before he will... and that he'll get himself killed trying to keep a promise to me that no longer matters."

Tazuna sighed. "Well, this reunion is getting a bit morose, isn't it? Come, come -- if Naruto-kun is still on a training trip, and the two of you are going to be trying to recover him together, then you have plenty of time before you need to worry. Right now, let's get this treaty taken care of and then we'll go have fun catching up with more pleasant memories."

"So the daimyo has agreed without condition?" Tsunade said. "I thought we'd have to renegotiate the treaty, a bit, considering what it'll obligate some of this town to do."

"The only alteration was that I'm to supervise construction," Tazuna replied. "Which may be a bit of a challenge for me -- I've specialized in bridges my whole career. Never done something like, well, this."

"Don't worry about it," Tsunade said dismissively with a wave of her hand. "I'll agree to that provision -- I'd probably have asked for it, anyway, if I hadn't thought you'd be too busy as Prime Minister to do it. And I've brought eight of my own people to help you with the technical details -- they're young and inexperienced, but they'll manage the job nicely with your help."

With a wink at Sakura, Tazuna nodded. "I know better, now, then to doubt Konoha ninjas... even if they are 'young and inexperienced.'"

It took almost no time to sign the treaty -- which was quickly hidden away, before either Sakura or Ino could see it -- and then they went to Tazuno's place to eat a home-cooked meal by his daughter. Inari was there, proudly proclaiming that he'd been accepted to Konoha's ninja academy, although he wasn't allowed to start for a couple years, still (and there was a twinkle in both Tazuna's and Tsunade's eyes when he said that). It was after dinner that Tsunade informed the girls they'd be going back to Konoha the next day -- as full-fledged chuunin.

"But... isn't this considered a B-rank mission, at least?" Ino asked, confused. "There hasn't been even a hint of trouble the whole time we've been gone!"

"You won't always be attacked just because there's danger of an attack," Tsunade noted.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know... considering what the chuunin exam was like when we tried to take it last time, this seems a bit too easy to get promoted."

Tsunade snorted. "If it was as hard to get every promotion as the chuunin exam gets, we'd never be able to handle a b-rank mission or above, because we'd never have enough chuunin or jounin to do it. Don't worry -- this actually wasn't the easiest chuunin promotion on record. You really did have to display some chuunin-level skills, just to keep your genin organized, and, hey, the mission is a success -- we didn't lose anyone on the trip, now, did we?"

Sakura couldn't say anything back to that, but had to wonder... when Naruto came back, would he be able to get this coveted promotion so easily? Or would he, once again, have to show himself as better then anyone else just to get half the respect?

* * *

It had been almost a year since Sakura had gotten her promotion to chuunin. In that time, she had trained harder then ever before, still not believing herself to deserve the chuunin ranking she'd been given. Still, she was pleased with the extra money -- she'd further enhanced her wardrobe, and while she refused to wear the chuunin vest she felt as if she looked older and more like a woman then ever before.

Right now, she was waiting in the hokage's office for Tsunade, staring out the window. She had seen a messenger toad earlier that day, which meant a letter had arrived from her wayward friend and teammate... or at least from her wayward friend and teammate's master. Naruto hadn't been writing much, even after he finally broke cover. According to one of the three letters she'd gotten from him, since then, he wanted to write more... but apparently, some days when he might have a chance, his training left him unable to. She wondered, vaguely, if the blood splotches on the parchement were any indication of just _why_ he was unable to write. Just what was Jiraiya training him in, anyway?

She was, to be quite frank, bored. She'd been training non-stop, and that meant she had essentially given up anything resembling a social life. Recently, even her after-training conversations with Ino had to be suspended -- the girl and her father had, indeed, reconciled. In order to make up for his mistakes, inoichi had taken her on a training trip in order to enhance her mindwalking abilities and to give her a few new techniques. Much to both Sakura and Ino's surprise, he had reacted much the same way to seeing Naruto's past as Ino, herself, had.

"Sakura!" Tsunade called, stepping into the room with a wide smile on her face.

"Yes?"

"That Naruto kid... it seems he's returned to Konoha..."

Notes: That very last scene is taken directly from the manga (well, visuals and dialog, anyway), which means (ta da!) we're done with Volume 2... finally. Now, about the fic... that's right, folks -- Sakura knows there's a demon in Naruto. Or at least she suspects it, greatly -- which seems to agree with how she acted when Naruto 'revealed' the secret to her in the manga. She doesn't know everything -- that it was Kyuubi, that the fourth died sealing the demon inside Naruto, none of that, but she has a pretty good idea something is there. That, by the way, was my 'plan change' which resulted in the longer chapter. I was rereading that part of the manga, and said to myself that, from that image, she had to know more than I've already let her know. So, I figured I'd give her some idea of what was going on, so that she can come to terms with it as much as she already seems to have. Oh, and if anyone is interested, I have no Ino pairings in mind -- the only candidates I can see her having from the manga (Chouji and Shikamaru) are either not really right for her (Chouji) or taken in another one of my favorite Naruto pairings (Shikamaru, with Temari). If she finds romance in this fic, it'll have to be with a new character. I include this spoiler only for one reason: I don't want a flood of people telling me, because of this chapter, to pair her up with Shikamaru. Hell, I'm not sure Shikamaru's even going to make more than a cameo appearance in this story -- not enough time to give her the romance she deserves. I was thinking about leaving her romantic interest 'present, but unnamed' in the end, so that I might either come back to it with a side story (VERY unlikely) or allow others to use their imagination -- possibly leaving Shikamaru 'unattachedunnamed romance' as well, as a sop to the InoShika crowd (I don't dislike the pairing, per se -- I can definitely see where it comes from, and I probably like it about as much as the alternative I've mentioned, but I find TemariShika a much more likely pairing in canon, and therefore support it more). All this is, of course, assuming I don't kill off one or the other of them (heh heh... er, it's very unlikely I would. My first choice for a good guy to sacrificekill off, if I need to in order to support the story, is Lee... not because I dislike Lee, but because he could have such a GOOD fight to the death that I'm almost considering killing him off, anyway, just to show it. Lee's fans won't be (too) disappointed in his death if it happens, trust me -- it'll probably be the best thing that could have happened for him). At any rate, next chapter will be the first chapter of Volume 3. I've mentioned just when the timeline will set it before, and I'll mention it again next chapter, so I'm afraid you won't just won't be seeing Sakura and Naruto's reunion... unless you actually read the manga, since it's supposed to be identical to that. You will, however, be able to see them together again. Over the next two volumes, you'll see more about tattoos, the thing Wave country is building, Sasuke making an appearance or two, and a reorganized Team 7 which will include Sakura, Naruto, and (surprise surprise -- it's not like I've spent two volumes and almost fourty thousand words setting it up or anything) Ino. Promotions to chuunin, jounin, etc., the fate of Naruto's promises, and Just What The Hell is Going On With All the Treaties and Spying and Haruno Bloodline Limits and Arranged Marriages and... um, well, you get the idea. And someone has a baby (but it's not Sakura or Naruto). If this is enough to get you interested, great. If not... uh, sorry?


	11. Vol 3 Chapter 1

Volume 3

Notes: Okay, power levels, try two. My point wasn't that the fourth was equal to kyuubi -- just that his chakra was. My point was that chakra was only ONE PART of what determines power levels. Limitless chakra does not make one the best ninja, nor the most powerful, simply the one with the most stamina. Also required to determine power level are durability, strength, speed, size, maneuverability, and so forth. The Fourth, I believe, was roughly (though not exactly -- I'm not saying one has to be exactly equal in strength to use the sealing technique, but I do believe that one needs to expend enough chakra to keep the technique going while your opponent resists. Therefore, I figure it has to be close in order to be successful) equal to Kyubi in chakra, or stamina (i.e., fuel), but he was overwhelmed by greater durability, greater strength, greater speed, and greater size. He might have been better or equal in maneuverability, but possibly not as well. Even with equal chakra, his only move was a suicide move. To further expound on this, some examples: The Uchiha were not the best when it came to stamina -- their power comes not from limitless chakra, but limitless numbers of techniques and artificial speed (due to the Sharingan Eye of Insight). Gaara doesn't appear to be a massive chakra powerhouse in the chuunin exam -- rather, he seems to have size (if you include the sand andor Shukaku), strength, and durability... and all of those things were nearly overcome by Lee's greater speed. Does that explain my view of chakra better? Another reply to a review: Once again, I wish to remind people that Volume 3 takes place AFTER the end of the current story arc in the manga. There has apparently been some confusion about that, as at least one reviewer seemed to think that it would be taking place DURING the current manga arc -- it is not; instead, I am making certain assumptions about how the story will go. I am assuming all the Konoha ninjas have survived, that there were no Sasuke sightings during the arc (a possibility, actually, but I'm hoping it doesn't happen), that Kyuubi is unharmed, and that Itachi survives. The fate of the rest of Akatsuki doesn't matter, nor does the fate of the Sand ninjas, more or less, although there is a possible Vol. 4 subplot difference which will take place if Gaara somehow survives being dead (it's been known to happen in some anime and manga). I suppose I also need to assume that the mission was successful enough that war hasn't been declared between Sand and Konoha (though given the current attitudes of the Sand council in the manga, I dunno). If any of these things does take place in the manga (or if, miracle of miracles, Sakura and Naruto ALREADY get together romantically before the end of the story arc more then they already have), then this fic will be 'Divergence-AU' (a term I picked up from another fandom meaning a divergence based on assumptions about how something will end which prove incorrect) Otherwise, it should just be 'Divergence.' This first chapter of Volume 3 is really just stage-setting for the rest of the story, since there's been a fairly active gap in the story since we last saw Naruto and Sakura in this fic. There will actually be some early scenes set during the period the current manga arc is taking place, but they are not connected with the manga arc in any way. I know, a bit confusing, but it should make sense as you read. Oh, and if you were one of the first fifty or so people who read the last chapter before I replaced it, I've changed the name of Ino's father. I was informed that his real name was 'Inoshi,' despite the fact there is no given name in either the manga or the anime. The source is a set of art books, apparently, which the site I was directed to by the person who told me it was Inoshi used as material... except the source website I was directed to listed his name as Inoichi. Sigh. I did a quick search-replace and changed his name to Inoichi, even though I happen to know of many other mangas and animes which have come out with similar 'source books' that were factually incorrect. (Think Ranma .5 (can't use the backslash to make it one half any more... argh) Memorial Book, which created an impossible-in-canon timeline that people use to nitpick others with, and some often-quoted DBZ reference books which did their math wrong on a number of things, just for starters, and... well, you get the idea) Ah, well -- sorry I was only using reliable source material, for the nitpickers. (I'm not really angry at the nitpick -- just at the quality of the source used for it. I'm actually grateful for the knowledge. This is more just a warning for the future: the website I was directed to was a good resource, and the art books are probably right, but I cannot think of them as reliable and I would never correct another person because of that kind of data. In the future, if any of you have a nitpick correction like that for me, please try to find a source from either the manga (primary) or the anime (reliable when not contradicted by the manga). The manga will always take preference, as sometimes the manga writers will screw things up as well (for example, in Inuyasha movie... er, 3, I think it is... anyway, in one of the Inuyasha movies, it indicated that Inuyasha was alive at a time when he couldn't possibly have been born (I forget the details -- it's been a while)) At any rate, I've changed it to Inoichi. Even if THAT is wrong, I'm not changing it -- I've done it once, I'm not doing it again. If it makes you feel any better, realize that Inoichi and Inoshi can be pronounced the same way in some Japanese dialects, much as Kakashi is sometimes pronounced 'Kakaii' in the anime. Okay, enough ranting and explanation... time to start the fic.

* * *

Chapter 1

Notes: Seperated from above because the above is mostly clarification and ranting. This chapter is largely fluff -- a sort of 're-introduction' of where Naruto and Sakura are in the timeline -- but the very first scene is, in fact, supposed to be while they are away, possibly having already taken place as of Ch. 265 or so of the manga. From then on, it is where I said this volume will be set -- after the current story arc is completed, with the assumptions I have already listed as to how it'll turn out.

* * *

Tsunade read the report Jiraiya had finally turned in. She knew most of the basic facts from his 'letters home' over the years, but this was significantly more detailed then he could possibly have written for the mail in a secure enough code. The findings were troublesome, but not unexpected. Apparently, the Rock were preparing for war, again -- the question was, with who? And when would they strike? Wherever their target was, they seemed willing to spend years of time preparing themselves for it, so wherever it was must have been a strong enough power to resist a kage power in normal circumstances. That meant it would be Mist, Cloud, Sand, Rain, Grass, Sound, or Konoha. She felt it was unlikely Konoha was the direct target -- if it was, they likely would have struck during Konoha's weakest point, just before she became hokage. Rock could have easily crushed Konoha, then. Or Sand, so that target was also ruled out. Orochimaru probably wasn't thier favorite person, but they hadn't yet, to the best of her knowledge, even met anyone from the Sound Ninja's, so war with them seemed unlikely. Grass and Rain could be fought without this unprecedented build-up of force. Mist and Cloud were their allies... but that eliminated everyone. So the question was, again, who was the target?

Jiraiya was looking at his own report on her dealings with the rest of the ninja world. "Hmm... and you say this is the last we heard from them, after they went to the Sand?"

"Well, birds of prey aren't as fast as radio or telephone," Tsunade sighed, setting down the report she had been reading. "So... how good is Naruto right now? Really?"

"Better then me. Virtually unlimited chakra combined with all of the techniques I know and then some," Jiraiya huffed. "He could go one-on-one with any of the known Akatsuki, including Itachi... as long as no-one uses genjutsu against him. He never really caught the trick to countering genjutsu."

"Yet you're still worried," Tsunade pointed out.

"His temper is too quick," Jiraiya explained. "He loses control, on occasion, and it gets him into trouble. His techniques are the best he can manage, but he's going up against people with bloodline limits which put anything Kyuubi's aid has done for him to shame. I said he _could _beat Itachi one-on-one... but I don't necessarily think he would. I have a few techniques which would allow me to force a retreat from Itachi, myself, but I don't think Naruto realistically could do better then me in that regard."

"Sakura's not ready, either," Tsunade sighed, taking her eyes off him. "She's finally improved, caught up to the rest of her genin class's level, but it isn't enough to go up against someone like Orochimaru or an Uchiha. She might be a match for Kabuto, one-on-one, but I doubt it -- Kabuto is Kakashi's equal, and I don't think she can beat Kakashi after having heard his report on their 'second bell test.'"

"They'll be going after Sasuke as soon as they get back, you know," Jiraiya pointed out. "We can't do anything about it."

Tsunade picked up a second report that Jiraiya had yet to see, and pointed to a highlighted section. "Actually... with this bit of information, I'm pretty sure we can put it off for a bit..."

* * *

After a long and terrifying mission, Naruto and Sakura were both happy to be heading away from the Sand. They had a few friends there, now, but niether one had enjoyed their little visit. They had enough successes to claim a successful mission, perhaps, but there were so many times that everything could have gone wrong... well, anyway, that was in the past. All they wanted to do was enjoy the ride into town they'd hitched from a local hay wagon and enjoy each other's company while they caught up with each other. They hadn't really had time to do that before this mission came to them, so it was a relatively pleasant time despite all that happened. They both wanted to forget... but there were some things Sakura couldn't forget.

Finally, her theory was confirmed. She'd tried researching Naruto for quite some time after Ino essentially told her that a greater demon was, in fact, inside of him. That lead to a bunch of dead ends, though -- the most she could find out about him that she didn't already know was that he was the only living Uzumaki. There weren't any files on his clan, and only passing references to others of his name in a few scattered records. Other than that, well, she'd struck out. This mission, however, confirmed everything... and, at some point, she wanted to talk with him about that. Among other things...

For one thing, she felt a little short-changed on their 'date.' Just as she'd promised Ino, she agreed to go out with Naruto when he asked her... provided he pay. He seemed a little upset about the needing to pay, thing -- and, given that she knew he hadn't been by the bank since he'd gotten back, she could definitely understand why. Still, she'd been anticipating that when she said it, and actually was looking forward to a little ramen and a nice long talk. That conversation never happened, however, once they met Shikamaru and Temari out together, having a 'not-date.' Naruto then found out about everyone but him being promoted, and things just sort of fell apart from their. In the end, they seperated (without eating lunch) when they ran into Iruka, who offered to treat Naruto to a welcome-home luncheon. Sakura hadn't given him a chance to refuse, merely smiling and waving, wishing the two of them a good meal. Naruto's eyes seemed a bit saddened, so she'd offered to put a rain-check on their date. That perked him up, a little, but they hadn't discussed anything about it since.

She also wanted to tell him about Ino. Her roommate had specifically said that Naruto should be told that his mind had been searched, and who did the searching, and why. They both decided it would probably be safer for Sakura to broach the topic, first, since niether of them knew how he would react. Naruto had been sorely abused by many people for many years -- niether of them wanted him to think they would take advantage of their new knowledge.

Also, she was surprised at just how mature he really was acting since meeting him, again. Oh, sure, there was the 'perverted ninjitsu' thing -- which she still wanted to hit him over -- and there was his 'You haven't changed at all' comment when she asked him about how womanly she looked. And, she supposed, he still needed to rein in his temper, a bit -- he was still prone to shouting at his enemies prior to fighting them. Overall, though... while he hadn't gotten rid of the things which made him appear so wild and immature in the past, he had refined them a bit so that they no longer appeared quite so immature. He hadn't changed the parts of him she disliked, really... he'd just incorporated them in a more mature fashion. To her honest surprise, she liked it.

He'd demonstrated far more improvement over the past two and a half years then she had -- which was quite some feat, when you consider where she was when she'd started compared to where he was when he started -- and appeared to have the same talent that Tsunade's tales seemed to indicate the great (if perverted) Jiraiya had. She, herself, had demonstrated much of the same talents as Tsunade boasted. Sakura, however, lacked the gambling addiction and laziness of her master (although she did learn the rules and tricks to a lot of high-stakes games like poker, craps, and so forth). She wondered if Naruto was like Jiraiya, only without the perversion. So far, he hadn't ogled at girls and -- given the amount of time they'd spent together since his return -- she knew he hadn't even tried to peak on girls in the bathhouses. Then again...

"Naruto," she began, turning her head to look at him. He was stretched on the hay, laying on his back with his arms as pillows.

"Eh?" he replied lazily.

"Erm, I don't know how to put this, but... what, exactly is perverted ninjitsu, and how did you come up with it?"

Naruto somehow slipped off his own arms, banging his head against the wooden fence around the hay cart. "Ack!" he shouted, his eye widening. "Why in the world do you want to know about that? You aren't planning to try it, are you?"

"Of course not!" Sakura protested. "It's just... well, when you came back, it wasn't two minutes before you started going on about 'perverted ninjitsu.' I thought that, well, with you travelling with Jiraiya the pervert and all, you might have gotten _less _mature rather than moreso. This whole trip, though... you're really a remarkable person, Naruto. It's just... if you aren't going to be just like Jiraiya, then what is it with the perverted ninjitsu, anyway?"

Naruto settled back down, laughing. "Sakura-chan," he began. "You completely misunderstand. Perverted ninjitsu isn't about being a pervert -- it's about taking advantage of the perversion in others. It really started out as a practical joke, to... uh... cover up for the fact that my real ninjitsu needed a lot of work. I knew it did, but... well, it was embarrassing, you know? I'd been in the academy three years, by then, and I couldn't get a single 'bushin no jutsu' to work. So... to keep from getting laughed at because I was an idiot, I wanted to be laughed at because I was funny." With a grin, he said, "Imagine my surprise when I found it useable against certain 'adults.' I would use it against people who I wanted to beat without hurting them -- like the Third, and Iruka-sensei. I considered using it against Kakashi-sensei during the first bell test, but... well, I didn't want to win that way, then. I wanted to prove, to myself if no-one else, that I actually could fight... and I did. Sure, he handed me my own ass a number of times during that 'test,' and he insulted me afterwards about not 'thinking beyond the obvious,' but there was at least one moment when I saw genuine, unfakeable surprise in his eyes, and I lived on that moment until I finally managed some success in a real battle."

Sakura smiled slightly. "That doesn't really answer the question. Obviously, you seem to think you've 'improved' upon the sexy-no-jutsu, so just how is it you developed this new 'perverted ninjitsu?' Has Jiraiya corrupted you, or what?"

"He tried," Naruto snorted. "On my fourteenth birthday, he got me all excited. He told me he was giving me a birthday present -- and it would have been the first birthday present I'd ever recieved! I was really happy. It turned out, though, that what he was 'giving' me was a fully-paid night in a brothel."

Sakura flushed. Something twinged in her stomach at what must have happened that night, but she couldn't help but laugh anyway. "Oh, my!"

"Nothing happened, Sakura-chan!" Naruto insisted. "Really! I... well, okay, not nothing, but nothing like that. I told the lady -- politely -- that I... uh... hm. Anyway, I refused, and instead we spent the night talking about how to create a bunch of new perverted ninjitsu. I was intending to use them on ero-sennin, at the time, but... I never got around to it. I've been... really busy, since then."

"So, Jiraiya paid for you to have a whole night in a brothel, and all you did was have her talk dirty to you?" Sakura laughed, feeling immensely relieved. However, her mind was churning -- just what was it Naruto wasn't telling her? There was definitely something there... something dealing with what he'd told 'the lady' in question.

"No, not like that," Naruto replied. "More like... she knew what the three basic ninjitsu techniques are -- cloning, transformation, and replacement -- and so she made suggestions for things which might be doable with those. Most of them weren't possible, but I figured out a few doozies to hit ero-sennin with, one of these days. That wasn't all we did, either. She, uh, gave me a massage... but I was wearing pants the whole time -- honest! Anyway, afterwards she gave me a special package. I haven't opened it, yet, so I don't know what's in it, but I figure I got enough out of it to justify what the old pervert paid for it."

"A massage, huh?" Sakura said, dangerously. She was feeling slightly... well, perhaps she could call it 'jealous,' even though nothing had really happened between Naruto and whoever that woman was. Her curiosity won out over her desire to punish Naruto, however. "So... what was it, exactly, that you told her that made your 'refusal' go so smoothly? I suspect if you'd just said 'no' she never would have been so... friendly."

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to say -- not really. Sakura, he knew, was still hung up on Sasuke, and he didn't want to upset what was promising to be a strong friendship by bringing up his love for her, again. Still... he didn't want to lie to Sakura, so what choice did he have?

"I told her I wanted to remain loyal... to you."

That statement forced Sakura to sit up and look at him. He wouldn't meet her eyes, so she chose the most bold course of action she could manage to force him to. She rolled over and straddled him. Technically, she was using a grappling move known as a 'mount' to pin him, but also -- when done by a girl on a guy, or visa versa -- the 'mount' could be considered quite... compromising. Regardless, for the ninja pinned under by a mount, it was quite a dangerous position to be in. Sakura grinned evilly -- if there was one thing she wanted Naruto to realize at that moment, it was that he was in _great _danger.

"You wanted to remain loyal to me, huh?" Sakura said, letting a threatening low growl into her voice. "Naruto, when we parted, you knew that I wanted to recover Sasuke-kun, because I love him. You promised you would recover him with me, remember? So... why ever would you need to be loyal to me?"

Naruto looked panicked at first, but settled down quickly enough. His eyes glinted slightly as he replied, "Because you're Sakura-chan. Even if I never have you, even if I have to save Sasuke-kun for you to love him, I will always be loyal to Sakura-chan. And, by the way, kyuubi really likes it when you talk like that."

Sakura's eyes showed her confusion and momentary panic by his answer. She'd partially expected the first part -- Ino had been hinting for quite some time that Naruto was quite determined he'd either have her as a girlfriend, or he'd have no-one. However, his reference to kyuubi -- and the determined way he'd said the whole thing -- made her pause. She intended to tease him for a bit, and then let him go, but now she wasn't so sure.

She rolled off him, taking a deep breath to recover her confidence. She let her Inner Sakura help with that -- one of the things the Overlay Persona granted her was the ability to make fast recoveries from emotional shocks -- and then she let out what she'd intended to tease him into, in the first place.

"He does, huh?" she growled again. "I assume you like it, too, or else you'd not have said anything, right?

"Right," Naruto said, sitting up to face her.

"In that case, Naruto-_kun,_" she said deliberately. "You -- and the kyuubi, if he wants to tag along -- had better go to the bank when we get back into Konoha. Once you have drawn sufficient funds, you will proceed to a clothes shop, where you will purchase suitable eveningwear -- your orange suits look pretty nice on you for travelling, Naruto, but you really need to wear something else when we're home and not on duty. Then, you will stop by my house approximately twenty minutes until dinner, and pick me up... for that date I gave you a rain check on. But only if you take me to something a bit more fancy then the Ichiraku, and only if you order something other then ramen. Got it?"

Naruto grinned. "Got it."

* * *

"Well, Kakashi? I know they'll be here soon. I'd like a report before they get here," Tsunade sighed.

Kakashi sighed. He really would rather be reading the new Icha Icha Paradise book that Naruto gave him -- he hadn't had a chance to read it since the boy had given it to him. Since it was a rare Advanced Readers Copy of a title not yet for sale, he knew he was one of the first people to have a chance to read it... and this whole meeting was cutting into his reading time. Still, he supposed he should do his duty and give the report.

"Well, Naruto's rather impressive," Kakashi finally answered. "He's better then me, that's for sure. I think he's better then Jiraiya, when he takes his time and thinks about what he's doing. Your student, however... well, she's not really that much better then the others from that class of genin, skills-wise. On the plus side, her chakra has greatly increased. You gave her good taijutsu, and her medi-nin capabilities are your equal. In that, alone, has she excelled... but her talent was in genjutsu, and that hasn't improved at all."

"Yes. I initially planned to find her a genjutsu teacher," Tsunade agreed. "But she found some help which I think will, in the long run, prove to have been more useful."

Kakashi felt a tiny spark of interest at that bit of information. "Oh?"

"Yes. She's been developing the Haruno bloodline ability."

Kakashi stared at the hokage for a moment. "You think pink hair is more helpful to her in the long run then genjutsu?"

Tsunade glared at him, and for once Kakashi felt a little intimidated. "The Haruno clan has more to it then pink hair. They have the 'Overlay Persona.' It isn't exactly designed for combat, but it does aid in countering genjutsu and other forms of mental attacks and helps calm the mind. Probably other things as well -- there have been Haruno clan members who claimed it let them concentrate on two completely different and unrelated things at the same time, that it can speed their reaction time, and that it can help a person resist torture by giving their mind a place to 'escape to' and avoid the pain. What we do know is that the only true counter to a mangekyou sharingan without another sharingan eye to combat it is, in fact, the Overlay Persona."

Kakashi winced, recalling his own encounter with that powerful technique. "Well, perhaps it is a useful thing to develop, after all. But why wasn't I informed she had this bloodline ability when I recieved her as my student?"

"I don't know," Tsunade sighed. "The Third's notes indicate something about how it would probably have put too great a burden on you, to try and help the girl develop a talent niether of you would know anything about. He recommended letting her mother train her, once she got to a certain age. Her mother did not exactly train her, but she did give her the tools to train herself... and arranged for an appropriate, ah, sparring partner, if you will."

Kakashi frowned. "A sparring partner?"

"Yamanaka Ino... heir to the Yamanaka mind attack techniques. Which brings me to just why I brought you here, today."

"Oh?" Kakashi hummed. "I thought I was here to give you a report."

Tsunade grinned. "Yes. And that report says that Sakura needs training, right? Well... I'm giving Ino over to Team 7, to help you get her trained up. Asuma-san's team is being broken up, with Shikamaru travelling back and forth acting as our liason to the Sand and Chouji is on an extended mission as Food Taster to Madam Shijima, who as you know is the wife to the daimyo. I may decide to have Asuma take over Kurenei's team, and have Kurenei accompany you on your next mission... but I'll talk with her about that, first. Regardless, I will find a genjutsu specialist to accompany you and help you to train Sakura-chan."

Kakashi nodded. "So... what _is_ our next mission, anyway?"

Tsunade's grin split wide open. "I am _so_ glad you asked..."

* * *

Notes: Well, the opening notes covered all the ranting that I needed to vent away. Next chapter, a meeting between Team 7 and Tsunade, and Ino returns. Possibly the date with Naruto, as well, but we'll play it by ear on that one. 


	12. V3 Chapter 2

Volume 3

Author's Notes: YES. Naruto and Sakura are done 'rescuing' Gaara (assuming they do) from the current arc. I thought I made that clear. Either that, or they're done with whatever they try to do after ascertaining that no, there is no way to restore Gaara to life after what Akatsuki has done to him. I THOUGHT I made that perfectly clear, the last four times I mentioned that this volume deals with events AFTER the current manga arc is finished. Okay, enough of that -- I won't be repeating it again. Ages: Naruto is 16. Sakura is 16. Ino is 16. Other characters who will be appearing than you may want to know the ages of will appear in closing notes.

* * *

REUPLOADED WITH LINE BREAKS. 

Chapter 2

Naruto was startled, upon reporting back from their mission to the hokage's office -- Sakura by his side -- to see that not only was Tsunade present, but so were Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenei, Jiraiya, Gai, Ebisu, and several other jounin he barely recognized. Sakura recognized this -- she had been to a similar meeting just about one year beforehand. She smiled proudly, but hid her face so as to not give away anything.

"I'm not going to ask for a verbal report," Tsunade said, looking up at Naruto with a twinkle in her eye. "Kakashi-san has already been kind enough to give one. I do hope, however, you'll have the written report ready for me before you go on your next mission."

"My next mission is going to the Sound village to rescue Sasuke," Naruto grumbled, not knowing what was going on.

"No, it isn't, Naruto," Jiraiya replied.

A cracking sound was heard as Naruto's fingers clenched into fists. "Excuse me? We've only got a couple months to get him -- you all know that! I told you I wasn't going to give up on him, ero-sennin! I'm not! It--"

"I'm not asking you to," his master sighed. "Look, Naruto -- it probably wouldn't have been a good idea to go now, anyway. You may be prepared, but you couldn't go alone -- you'd need to take Sakura, and probably a bunch of other teammates to counter their greater numbers, for you'd be going up against an entire army. And right now, while Sakura may have improved beyond anyone's expectations these past couple of years, she's not ready to stand toe-to-toe with her most likely opponent -- Kabuto. I suspect you would have gone, anyway... but it's pointless to argue the matter, now, anyway. Sasuke isn't there."

Naruto was about to start arguing that he didn't need anyone to help him rescue Sasuke, anyway, and so he could go rescue him with whoever wanted to come without worry. That last statement, however, through him -- and Sakura, as well -- for a loop. "He's not there?"

"No," Tsunade confirmed. "We've been keeping a closer watch on Sound after Sasuke's... defection. Apparently, he left -- with Orochimaru's blessing -- about two months ago. We aren't sure where he is right now, but we know he's safe from Orochimaru's intended use of him as a container. For the moment."

"We think he may approach the two of you," Kakashi continued. "Whether to fight you, or just talk with you, we aren't sure. We feel fairly confident, however, he will not be doing so while you are in Konoha. Therefore, we are making arrangements for a long-term mission out of the village that the two of you -- and team seven's newest member, who I will be introducing you to tomorrow morning, at our usual meeting place -- will participate in. Hopefully, that will allow him the opportunity to approach us... and we are confident that, whether he arrives as a friend or an enemy, we will be able to handle him."

"But I just got back from two long trips!" Naruto complained. "I haven't even had time to unpack from my training mission with ero-sennin!"

"It will be a good experience for you, Naruto-kun, and you will not be as completely isolated from your friends here as you were before," Tsunade said, standing from her desk and holding up a piece of paper. "There is something I want to do before you go, though. I would like to confirm, by you signing this written oath, that you will accept the offices and duties of a chuunin in Konoha's forces. You may not have realized it, but you had already been promoted to an acting-chuunin before you left on your mission, and when a genin deserves promotion but cannot take the chuunin exam, he will often be given an opportunity to prove himself as an acting chuunin, and if his performance is good enough that promotion will be made permanent. The mission you were yelling at me about not wanting to do, before this whole Sand incident occured, was _supposed_ to be the one to grant you this promotion... however, given your performance in a much more extreme situation, I feel as if I am justified in confirming your promotion, anyway."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Heh heh. Well, I--"

"Don't worry about it," Tsunade shrugged, waving him off. "This new mission we have planned for you will last between one and five years. If it takes longer then two years, your promotion to Jounin will be automatic upon your return -- and, Sakura, yours as well. I am not explaining any of the details at this point, however, save to prepare for a journey of that length. You will likely be staying in apartments for much of it, but they may not be available when you start out, so keep that in mind while you get ready. You have a week's time, here, to prepare yourselves. And, Sakura, I'll take care of explaining all this to Ino-chan... you won't have to."

"Ah, thank you, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura replied.

"Very well. Naruto, once you sign here, I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of the day as a paid vacation day. I strongly suggest you relax and _not_ perform any training until you leave on your mission -- I am well aware of just how strenuous both your training and the battles with Akatsuki have been, and while I feel confident your body can take the stress I feel your mental wellbeing would be greatly improved with some rest."

Naruto looked rebellious, but at a motion from Jiraiya just nodded. "Well, I suppose I can find other things to do..." he mumbled.

"That's a good boy. Now, let's get this thing signed, and I'll start getting your mission ready for you..."

* * *

Sakura was sitting in front of her closet door, a terrycloth robe wrapped around her shoulders, when Ino came bursting through the door. "Sakura-chan! Long time, no see!" she cheered. "I've already been by the hokage's office, and I know all about your mission... but, more than that, I know that Naruto-dono is back!" 

Sakura glanced over her shoulder to see her unusually bubbly roommate. She was not in the mood for this, right now, but she supposed she had to humor her. "Yes, Naruto-kun is back. And, in less than an hour, he's supposed to be here to pick me up for our date." She paused. "I haven't told him about your mindwalk, yet."

Ino just shrugged. "One of us will get around to it, in time. If you've got a date, though, then maybe we'd better get a move on. It'll take a lot of work to get _you_ looking good enough for him," she teased.

"Just what I needed," Sakura sighed dramatically. "Fashion advice from the Ino-pig!"

"Damn straight you do," Ino shot back, ignoring the 'pig' comment. "I may not be the best kunoichi of our generation in Konoha -- I think you're about to take that title from Hinata-san, if you haven't already -- but I am the most fashion-conscious. Now... your hair is a bit of a loss, I'm afraid -- you really should have let me help you with it before you got it all wet in that shower, Sakura-chan -- but I suppose we can manage something suitable for a date from my wardrobe. Yours is too... well, everything you own is identical to just about everything else. You look pretty sharp for someone going off to battle, I'll admit, but to a dinner date?" She clucked. "Come on -- we'll see what I've got that you can wear."

The first few outfits Ino had her try on made her feel rather silly, as they were so frilly an idol singer would think twice before wearing them. Not to mention they were the same shade of pink as her hair -- not exactly a good color choice. After a while, it dawned on Sakura that Ino was joking around. "I haven't got time for this," Sakura complained. "You obviously have something in mind -- what is it?"

Ino laughed. "You know me too well. Hell, I'd never actually _buy_ any of these things I've been making you try on, myself, would I? Actually, I had something... more interesting in mind, I think."

And she pulled out what Sakura knew could be called the 'typical little black dress,' only it wasn't exactly so typical. It came down to about mid-thigh, although a wide slit went so high it almost showed her panties. A chain-link belt cinched it tight around her waist line, and hidden elastic bands helped emphasize her bust better then any padded bra might have. It gave her a perfect hourglass figure, and a little open 'window' about an inch down from the neckline showed that yes, she did have cleavage after all... even it if was largely enhanced by the elastic bands of the wasteline. It was impossible to wear a bra with it, though, which made Sakura feel a little uncomfortable... but there was one thing which sealed the deal for her.

Embroidered on each shoulder was an elaborate nine-tailed kitsune, its tails sweeping down her back, around her armbands, and even down framing the underside of her breasts.

"Wow," Sakura breathed, looking at herself in Ino's full-length mirror. "Where in the world did you get this? I've never seen any store in Konoha carry any kyuubi-motif fashions."

"Your mother made it, actually," Ino laughed. "I told her I'd gotten you to promise to go with Naruto on a date when he got back. We all knew more or less when he'd be returning, so about a month ago she asked me to get your measurements. I think she bought the dress, but did the embroidery herself... and I'm guessing, from your reaction, that your mother knows what you like pretty well, huh?"

Sakura couldn't help buy look at herself in shock. "I didn't believe I could really look like this. But... what will the villagers think? You know... the ones who _know?_"

"They'll think that you know, and you're still willing to go out with him," Ino answered. "Some of them will hate you for it, and some of them will hate Naruto for taking such a treasure as you are when they feel he doesn't deserve it. A few, however, will see that you know, that you're willing to be with him, anyway, and they will wonder... are they right in hating him for it? And _that, _my dear Sakura-chan, will be worth it. Don't you agree?"

Sakura had no time to answer before she heard a knocking on the door.

"Well," she said, making a last second adjustment to her hair. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

* * *

Sakura was pleasantly surprised at how seriously Naruto was taking this date. He had, just as she had told him to, gone out and bought a brand new suit. Hints of moisture in his hair and small wrinkles visible on his fingers told her eyes, trained in the art of observation and deduction, that he had taken a bath or shower immediately before heading over to her place -- something he'd definitely needed to do, but something she wasn't sure he'd think of, given his lifestyle and lack of experience dealing with girls. 

Also, while he had definitely appreciated the dress -- the way his eyes bulges when he first saw it more than showed that -- he wasn't ogling her like a pervert. Just... showing a healthy appreciation of her dress and her figure. While his eyes had darted to the obvious things -- the little diamond patch of bare skin that showed her cleavage off, the length of her legs from her boots (which she just couldn't do without, any more -- her muscles had adjusted to them to the point where it sometimes hurt to try and walk without them) to the slit up her thighs, and so forth, they hadn't lingered overlong. The one place they had lingered was entirely understandable, and Sakura had anticipated it -- the embroidered kyuubi was definitely the thing which held his interest the most, on her person. She was not offended, and in fact she was quite pleased with _just_ how appreciative his eyes showed him to be.

She heard a few mutterings on the street as she walked arm-in-arm with Naruto. Many people seemed rather disgusted with her dress, but few spoke anything aloud. There was, however, one moment of... unpleasantness, when a grey-haired woman approached her. "Demon's whore!" she had cried, moving as if to tear the kyuubi patch off of her brand new dress. Her arm, however, never made it that far.

Naruto had, faster then Sakura could see, pulled his arm out from hers, reached over, and grabbed the lady by the wrist. In a low, dangerous voice, he warned the old lady, "Sakura-chan is not a whore, not for any human or demon. I have met a whore or two in my travels, however, thanks to my master -- one of the legendary sannin, Jiraiya-sama -- and one thing I can say about them -- they are much more pleasant company than a bitter old bitch like you. Now, I am not a demon... but if you believe me to be one, and you believe that Sakura-chan is my 'whore,' then you really should think twice about attacking her in my presence and consider just what a 'demon' will do to the person who offends his girl."

The old woman had gaped at him for a moment before he released the wrist. As soon as she regained her wits, she'd turned and fled down the street in terror, shrieking like a banshee. Sakura, a little disturbed, had nevertheless reclaimed his arm. After a moment to steady her own nerves, she had turned to Naruto and asked, "Are you sure it's a good idea to threaten her like that?"

Naruto had nodded, not even having to think about it. "I've had people attack me all my life because they were afraid of what was inside me. That's fine -- I know what kyuubi did, and can sympathize with them. But if they start attacking the people I hold dear because they're afraid of me... well, then, I think they need to learn to respect that fear, and not scorn it. Because they're right, in part -- the kyuubi in me does make me dangerous." He paused. "He and I have been talking, back and forth, for the past year or so. Ero-sennin said I needed to get in touch with him, so that I could develop a new technique of mine. He and I both agree... if something were to happen to you because of us, we would not be happy. We would become what these people are afraid of us becoming. And that... scares me. So, if someone starts moving on the path towards provoking us to become what they fear, it's better to use that fear to turn them from that path. It will make my journey to hokage that much harder, yes, but I think putting my own goals aside to protect others is one of the hokage's roles, and so I would be violating my way of the ninja -- or rather, my way of the hokage -- to do otherwise." He had then blinked, and laughed. "Well, that's how kyuubi put it. I'd probably just say something like, 'nobody tries to hurt my Sakura-chan and gets away with it!'"

Deciding that his reasons were, in fact, pretty well thought out -- and realizing that it likely wasn't a good idea to be talking about that kind of thing on a public street -- she had immediately changed the subject over to small-talk, mostly speculating as to what type of mission they were going to be sent on. Sakura had championed the idea of having to guard a member of the daimyo's court, but Naruto disagreed, speculating that they'd be going on yet another training journey. Niether idea appealed to either of them, but at least it was something to talk about... and the silly speculation allowed Inner Sakura to digest his words -- largely, to come to terms with the concept that the kyuubi, and not just Naruto, were that defensive of her. Just why was the demon living in Naruto's belly button so concerned about her, anyway? Now, they were seated in the restaurant, however, both parts of the Overlay Persona were focused on the date. The implications of kyuubi's interest could wait -- right now, she intended to enjoy herself. After all, it's not like Naruto's own feelings were that much of a shocker; she'd have to talk with him about just how much influence he and the kyuubi had over one another when they were in more private surroundings, however.

They had been given a table much faster then Sakura had anticipated. She expected the restaurant to hold them for a long time, given how poorly most people in Konoha -- including the businesses -- treated him. However, Naruto had made a reservation -- under his own name, in fact -- and it was honored with a minimum of delay. If Sakura was a bit curious about that, her answers weren't long in coming.

"I talked to the old man at the Ichiraku about tonight," Naruto explained, without her even needing to ask. "I told him that was going on a date with you tonight, but that you wanted to go some place fancier then his little ramen stand. He laughed, saying I shouldn't even think about taking a date to a 'rinky-dink little shack' like his. His older brother works here, though, and so he helped me make the arrangements. If the food here is half as good as he said it is, I might be too busy eating to talk much once they serve it."

Sakura laughed. "So we'd better get all the talking out of the way, now, huh? Oh, Naruto... sometimes, you seem like a completely different person then the boy I knew, but it's times like this that help me know you're that same boy, after all."

Naruto blinked. "Who else would I be?"

Sakura laughed, again, before opening her menu to see what was available. She chose things she hoped would be within his budget -- and, given that she had total access to his bank accounts for the past two and a half years, she had a pretty good idea of what his budget should be -- and placed her order. While they waited for the food, he recounted much of his journey through Rock country with Jiraiya. She heard in greater detail about his 'experience' in the brothel -- she was quite curious about that, but it sounded very innocent from what Sakura could tell, and Naruto seemed to her eyes to be quite honest in his account -- and laughed when Naruto explained how Jiraiya was forced to stay away from brothels and similar houses of ill repute the rest of their trip, simply because he was too recognizable among the prostitute population. She heard about how he had mastered enough techniques to actually qualify for his dream job of being the hokage, although, he admitted, some of those techniques were fairly silly. Finally, he talked about his near disaster encountering the former Rainbow nin, and how that had resulted in him making yet another promise he would find difficult to uphold, but which he swore he would accomplish as soon as he could. Sakura didn't say a word, having vowed some time ago never to doubt Naruto again. Still, she wondered just when he would bite off more then he could chew.

"So, Sakura," he said suddenly, glancing over to watch their waiter leave after bringing them their food. "I think I've managed to cover the basics of what happened while I was gone. Why don't you tell me about your time, here -- just why did you move out of your parents' home and take _Ino,_ of all people, as your roommate?"

Sakura froze. She'd been hoping to avoid that question until well after their date -- and well out of earshot of anyone curious enough to be listening in. She knew Naruto fairly well, and fully expected him to explode as soon as she revealed what had been done to him while he was in the hospital, two and a half years before, and didn't want that to ruin their date. Not telling him, though, would be worse -- he needed to know, some time, and if she didn't tell him, now, he'd probably get upset when he learned he hid it from her, later. Well... so much for that pleasant evening she'd been having.

"Naruto... just before you left, Ino... did something to you. She'd been hired to go through your mind, and look at your memories, so--"

"Oh! That was her?" he interrupted unexpectedly, just barely remembering to swallow first.

Sakura gaped at him. "You knew? How?"

"Shizune warned me," he explained. "She heard your 'master,' the old hag, talking with Gaara about it, and wanted to let me know in case I objected. Probably a good thing I did, too -- it kept kyuubi from trying to hurt the intruder. I didn't mind, though -- I knew what Gaara wanted, and thought he should have it. I just didn't know Ino was the one to do it..."

Sakura swallowed. "You mean Ino-chan and I have been fretting about this for the past _month_ for nothing? We thought you'd be upset!"

"Why would I be upset?" Naruto asked. "All she did was look at my memories. I thought, at the time, that the person looking in would be an adult -- you know, someone who already knew about, well, him. That's about the only real secret I had, at the time, so I wasn't worried."

"Oh," Sakura said quietly, trying to digest that. "But then... weren't you trying to keep your fight with Sasuke-kun a secret, too?"

Naruto looked down. "Only from you. I didn't want you to know... just how far Sasuke had fallen into darkness."

They both were silent for a long moment, as niether were able to say anything or even to look at their dinners with Sasuke on their minds. Sakura, to her own surprise, was the first one to snap out of it.

"Oh, come on -- pick up your chopsticks and start eating," she finally said, taking action to eat their food herself. "I'll explain all about just what happened with Ino-chan for you -- you just sit right there and eat like the Naruto I remember... though do try to keep your ears open, this time. I don't want to repeat myself."

From that point on, all the tension dissolved and they enjoyed their meal immensely. Afterwards, they just took a walk through some of the various parks scattered throughout Konoha -- they considered a movie, but Konoha's lone movie theater wasn't playing anything they particularly wanted to see. In the end, though, they just kept talking throughout the evening, finally parting at the door to Sakura's condo early enough for them both to get a good night's sleep before their meeting with Kakashi in the morning. There was nothing especially romantic in their parting -- Naruto was still too unsure of his standing to try for a goodnight kiss, and Sakura felt it was much too early in their relationship to even really call it a relationship. Nevertheless, Naruto felt happier then he had in years at the success the date had been, and Sakura was pleased enough to wonder just how to approach their next date... because there _would_ be another date, even if she had to be the one to pay next time. The only person who wasn't too happy when their evening concluded was Ino -- she was looking forward to a full night to herself, hoping that she would be able to 'not wait up' for the conclusion of the date... and intending to take full advantage of it to tease her friend (in a gentle way -- she didn't want to hurt the chances of the new couple working out, after all) for weeks to come.

* * *

It was a pleasant morning, waiting on the bridge for their chronically late jounin sensei. Neither Sakura nor Naruto had exhausted their stock of small talk the previous night, and Sakura had gained a bit more when she awoke to discover her roommate gone, which was quite unusual given that Ino usually woke up late unless going on a mission, and she hadn't heard about the other girl having been scheduled for a mission any time soon. 

Once again, however, they spent most of their time coming up with theories as to just what their mission was going to be. Sakura still suspected that they would be made guards of some daimyo's court, since that would allow them to be out in the 'open,' where Sasuke could easily find them, and stationary enough that he would have the time to find them. Also, if they were made guards for Fire Country's daimyo, they would still be in close contact with Konoha -- much as Tsunade said they would be. Naruto, however, had come up with yet another theory... this one much more worrisome.

"It might have something to do with the Rock nin," he suggested. "I spent almost a year in their territory, and something strange is happening there. I'm not quite sure what, but they sure seem interested in building up their size."

Before Sakura could respond to that, a lazy, "Yo," came echoing down from the top of the bridge. There, as always, crouched a belated Kakashi, saluting the pair with a lazy wave of his hand. "Sorry I'm late... but I really did have to see a couple people before I came here, this time."

For once, they could tell he wasn't just making up an excuse but really did seem to have a reason for being absent.

"I'll believe you just this once, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura warned. "Try this excuse again, though, and I'll demonstrate just what Tsunade-shishou did to me the one time I was late to one of her training sessions."

"Sure, sure," Kakashi replied, waving off the threat nonchallantly. Inside, however, he was quite worried -- if even half of what he'd heard about the hokage was true, that would be a rather... painful experience. "Now, on to the little details. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm going to introduce you to our newest team member. I didn't get a chance to tell her until this morning, but... I suspect you'll find working with her to be quite simple. Ino-san, please come out."

"Ino-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, as Ino appeared from behind a tree with a wide grin.

"Hi, Sakura-chan... Naruto-dono."

"Dono?" Naruto repeated, scratching his head.

Not allowing any time for any sort of explanation from Ino about her use of the honorific, Kakashi continued. "Now, I know you don't know what the mission is, just yet. I'm afraid you won't be told until after we're all a day's travel from Konoha, as we don't want anyone discussing this mission -- even in secret -- before we've begun. I can tell you, however, that this will be one of the largest missions we've ever attempted outside of a war. Some teams have already been placed in anticipation of this mission, and will support us when we arrive at out destination. On the journey, however, team seven will be joined by three teams of rookie genin, an ANBU specialist in genjutsu -- who will be instructing you, Sakura, in that field -- and possibly some others who have yet to be determined. The ANBU is Uzuki Yuugaru. She has been an ANBU for five years, although she has been on half-pay for four years, having gone into semi-retirement following the murder of her fiancee in the Sand-Sound war and her inability to avenge his death thanks to the Sand's immediate surrender. This is hoped to be a rehabilitation assignment for her, so please understand if she's a little rusty and help her re-adjust to the ninja life."

"We're hardly the finest examples of people who live the way of the ninja," Ino snorted.

"We'll help," Sakura and Naruto chorused, overriding the blond girl's protest.

"The three teams are Ebisu's team, consisting of Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi -- you know them, right, Naruto?"

"Uh, yeah," Naruto answered, a little startled. Three rookie teams and an ANBU? Plus team 7? What was going on? "But I haven't had a chance to really get to know them since they became genin."

"Inuzuka Hana's team, consisting of her own cousin Inuzuka Futaba, a boy from a family new to Konoha named Daichi, and a girl named Hyuuga Hanabi."

"Hyuuga? Oh, man... is she more like Negi or more like Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Now, Naruto, everyone is unique," Sakura admonished. "She's more like herself then either of them, I'm sure."

"And finally," Kakashi continued, acting as if he hadn't heard the conversation. "Shiranui Genma's team. His team members are Kouji, Nobori, and Matsuri... none of any major clan, so I don't know what techniques they may be able to use. Konoha doubled the number of genin teams to pass through for missions, this most recent time, and they were the last team selected -- they have been on only one D-class mission since graduating, which means they're the least experienced of the bunch. They'll probably need the most help getting up to speed, so try to keep that in mind.

"Now... that's over, and you've all been ordered by the hokage to rest up for this week. No training -- we will have people check on you on occasion to make sure you don't, because the hokage is quite insistent on you spending this time as a paid vacation. It isn't for your physical health, Naruto -- we all know you are as healthy now as you're going to get, physically -- but for your mental health. Try to stay out of trouble, and I'll see you in a week."

With that, he disappeared with a puff of smoke. The threesome looked at one another in surprise -- just what was this mission they were gathering for? Were they going to war? No, that wasn't possible... Kakashi had said this was the largest mission ever _outside_ of a war, which meant this was something else. The sheer number of people involved blew all of their theories out of the water, and no-one knew how to react.

Finally, though, Ino moved forward. "Well... I guess we've got some things to discuss if we're going to be a new team, right? So... let's go to the Ichiraku -- my treat!"

* * *

Notes: Those of you who expected Naruto to blow up about having his mind searched... well, sorry, but I didn't want to ruin his date with Sakura because of that Heh. I know that I just had a long rant about the reliability of sources outside of the manga and anime with regards to names. Well, that doesn't mean I won't use them when I need them, just that I would never correct anybody using them. All of the genin mentioned in this chapter, as well as the purple-haired ANBU, are names pulled from the Rokudaime website which researched said names in those 'less then reliable' sources. Ages of those presently mentioned, yet possibly not very well known yet: Inuzuka Hana -- 22. Uzuki Yuugara -- 26 (this character is the purple-haired ANBU girl who swore vengeance upon the person who killed Hayate). Konohamaru -- 12. Moegi -- 12. Udon -- 12. Daichi -- 13. (Inuzuka -- his family name is not actually listed from the data, but I figured I'd make him an Inuzuka since he had a dog... makes developing his techniques easier) Futaba -- 12. Kouji -- 13. Matsuri -- 13. Nobori -- 13. Hyuuga Hanabi -- 10. I may also be putting Moegi in the Akamichi clan, since she looks like them (she's really too thin for it, but her face and hair make me think of them), as that will automatically give me a base on which to build her techniques. I was trying to find a clan (major or minor, or even just a minor relation) for Udon, but couldn't come up with anyone... save possibly the late Hayate, thanks to his runny nose, but I decided against that in the end. I also considered making him a Haruno, but then remembered I'd made pink hair a genetic trait of the Haruno clan, so he can't be part of that. So, he's not a part of any known clan, unless someone can suggest to me an idea for where he could be placed. Next chapter, the New Team 7 gets adjusted to being a team, and of course decides to break the rules to engage in a little training. Depending on length, I may finally reveal what the mission is, although I am curious as to what everything thinks the mission will be, and I expect other things to take up a bit of time -- Ino and Sakura saying goodbye to their families, for example -- so that I may not even get to that for two chapters, still. Relatively little needed to be said about the most recent batch of reviews, except for the whole 'age' question. I did not check birthdates when I aged people, I just added 3-4 years to the age I found listed for everyone... as far as I'm concerned, we only have one birthday I need to worry about -- Naruto's. Anyway, that's it for now. Reviews will be welcomed, of course. 


	13. V3 Chapter 3

Volume 2

Notes: Apparently, a couple people were confused by my age list. That is the list of people's ages AFTER Naruto's training session and the mission in Sand currently happening in the manga. For example, a website will list Uzuki Yuugao as 22. I aged her 3+ years to account for the fact that the age listed comes from her first appearance in the manga -- after which was Naruto's trip to bring back Tsunade, the whole chase after Sasuke, the several months in the hospital, the 2.5 years of training, and the mission to Sand. (Anyone who's age comes from, say, the journey to Wave or before will be aged 4+ years. I don't think there was anyone like that in the characters I listed, however) Also, I had a question about whether Naruto is the son of the Fourth. The answer is... well, I support that theory in cannon, but answering yes or no for the fic would be a fic spoiler. Naruto's parentage will come up... the question, however, isn't 'Who is Naruto's father?' but 'Who is Naruto's _mother?_' I'll let you chew on that one for a bit. I also had a question about Naruto's kinjutsu. Well, I have something in mind for if I get to the point in this fic that I have to use it before 'that technique' Jiraiya warns him about in the manga is presented in the manga. However, if what appears in the manga works with my story (and it appears before I reach that point), I'll be using that instead. In other words, 'I don't know yet, but I have a pretty good idea.' As far as Naruto's training goes, well, I have ideas in mind for that as well. The thing to realize, though, is at this point, Naruto doesn't really need new techniques, more control, more strength, more speed, or more precision -- i.e., the things a person typically picks up when training under a teacher. What he does need to learn is when to use the techniques he has, how best to use them in combat, what works when fighting with a team versus what works when he fights alone, how to keep his temper in check, and so forth. All these are things which only experience will teach him, which is why Tsunade and Kakashi have told him not to train for a week -- because he just doesn't really need it, any more. I hope to get that across in the coming chapters, but I suppose that little bit of explanation might be welcomed. Oh, with regards to guessing the song from which the names 'Shattered Glass' and 'Rainbow' comes from, I obviously was a bit too obscure. To help people out, I'll merely say that it's a song by Heather Alexander, and that one of those two is the title. With a hint like that, you should have a fifty-fifty shot, but don't cheat -- find her website, which includes a few sample tracks from some of her CDs, instead, and look up the lyrics. I heartily recommend a song called 'March of Cambraeth' to images of the Sand-Sound War to anyone thinking of doing a Naruto Music Video -- the song is available free on her website for listening, and is included in MP3 format with some of the Baen Books (a sci-fi publisher) free-to-distribute promotional e-book CDs. I posted the lyrics and a link to the website of Ms. Alexander on a NaruSaku forum before starting this chapter -- that is why I mention it, now... not because someone actually decided to try and figure it out, finally.

* * *

Chapter 3

"Here you go," Ayame said, placing three bowls in front of each of team seven's three chuunin. "One miso ramen for Ino-chan, one Spicy Seafood for Sakura-chan, and a Naruto Special for our number one customer -- even when he's gone!"

Sakura and Ino both thanked the waitress, but Naruto said nothing. His eyes, however, showed his gratitude as he gazed longingly at the ramen-y treat. He had only ordered one (large) bowl, having gotten a bit more polite in his mooching over the years, but that didn't stop him from wanting to tear into it with a fervor.

"Itadakimasu!" All three chorused once she had left, starting on their noodles.

"So," Ino said, smirking at the other two. "I assume your date last night was a success?"

If anyone noticed that the chef had stopped cooking and that Ayame had stopped cleaning in order to hear the answer, no-one commented on it. Sakura blushed prettily, unable to answer. In all honesty, the date of the previous night went better then in her wildest dreams; of course, in her wildest dreams it had been Sasuke and not Naruto who was with her. Perhaps that was why her dreams were just that -- dreams. Even the Sasuke of old, before he had been corrupted by the cursed seal of Orochimaru, would never have treated her as well as Naruto had.

Naruto, though, only had the problem of finishing the biteful of noodles he had, not wanting to spit food all over the two girls in order to answer. "It went great," he said cheerfully. Perhaps not the most descriptive of things he could have said, but good enough to answer the question and quick enough that he didn't have to lose too much more time before taking another bite of the ambrosia which was Ichiraku ramen.

"Naruto!" Sakura protested. Immediately, the two people who worked the Ichiraku went back to business, although they kept their ears open for anything of note. "Don't say it like that! Yeah, it was a pretty good date, but... don't be so casual."

Naruto blinked, confused, this time talking around a mouthful of noodles (though still being careful not to spit any food on anyone). "Huh? How should I say it, then?"

Ino laughed. "Naruto... you have definitely matured, if what Sakura says is true, but you haven't learned a thing about women, have you?"

Naruto shrugged. "Didn't have time. I needed to learn everything I would need to fight Orochimaru."

"And did you?" Ino asked, curious. "Could you fight Orochimaru, now?"

"I know everything I need to know," Naruto said, closing his eyes. "For any battle. I just need to know how to use it better. As I believe you know, I spent over a month trying to learn the rasengan... and I did. The very first time I used it in combat, however, it was nothing like training -- I couldn't use it against a target in motion. I have over a thousand techniques, now, but I have only ever used about eighty or ninety of them in a real fight, and only four or five of the really good ones. I need to learn how to use the rest of my thousand techniques, so that in battle I won't make a mistake that gets me killed."

"You mean, like in real combat situations?" Ino said, then grinned. "Well... I happen to know of a good place to try and work on it. How about, after lunch, we go over to this obstacle course Sakura and I trained at while you were gone? We happen to own the course record for closest to completion -- even teams of jounin have failed at it."

"Ino!" Sakura cried. "We're not allowed to train! You know that!"

Ino laughed. "So? Are you afraid that I'll show you up in front of Naruto-dono or something?"

It was a challenge, just like when they were both going after Sasuke, and Sakura knew it. The only differences, this time, were that they weren't in competition over the boy, and the boy was Naruto... not Sasuke.

Nevertheless, Ino had challenged her... and Sakura would never back away from one of Ino's challenges. "Oh, what the hell? What are they going to do to punish us -- force us to train?"

* * *

"No, Inoichi already knows he'll be a jounin sensei for the next class of rookie genin. I know you want another two jounin, Kakashi, but I can't afford them."

"Asuma's free," Kakashi noted. "With his team disbanded, he'll need something to do. He could at least be there during set-up, at least."

Tsunade nervously rattled some dice in one hand, thinking. "I was considering giving him a new team of genin, actually... but since we've already decided on the senseis for the next genin class, I guess I can let you have him for the first year. We're really shaving off a lot more of Konoha's strength then we should, for this, however... I think I can only spare him part-time. We're short of jounin, and this mission is already taxing our strength."

"Well, beggers can't be choosers," Kakashi sighed.

"Jiraiya may be willing to come with you, too," Tsunade pointed out. "As long as he can operate completely independently -- he doesn't want to be part of the chain of command at any stage. He says his main goal in joining you is to protect and train Naruto. I think he may also want one last crack at Orochimaru, if he ever shows his face again, but he won't say that aloud."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. "Hokage-sama, the way you are organizing this mission is very... peculiar. Tell me, are you setting it up so that--"

He couldn't finish his sentence before an exploding puff of smoke interrupted him, revealing Shizune to the pair. "Tsunade-sama!" she cried. "Our trackers are reporting in -- Naruto, Sakura, and Ino are violating your orders to train. They're going through _the_ training course."

Kakashi frowned. "What is _the _training course?"

"Sakura and Ino wanted extra training while you were away on your reconnaisance mission, so they got Gai and Asuma to put together an obstacle course for them to train at. No-one has completed it, yet, but the two of them hold the course record for the making it the furthest." Tsunade sighed, standing up. "Well, I was expecting this -- trust Naruto to do something you tell him he can't do. Let's go."

"How are we going to stop them?" Shizune asked. "You and I couldn't even beat the course, and--"

"Who said anything about stopping them?" Tsunade laughed. "We're going to watch them."

* * *

"While you've been off gallavanting around Sand country with Naruto--" Ino began.

"We were on a mission!" Sakura protested.

"--I've been training up a storm," Ino continued, ignoring the interruption with a grin. "Naruto-dono, Sakura-chan says she told you about my little... trip... into your mind?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I'd wondered who the old hag pawned that off on -- sorry it hurt your brain so much."

Ino's eye twitched. "It... didn't exactly hurt my 'brain.' It did, however, make me think as if I were sort of half you and half me, however. I eventually managed to take all of the 'you' and keep it away from the 'me,' though... and now, it's really helping me fight and train. Sakura-chan and I were learning how to fight alongside the old you... using an _early_ form of this."

"Of what?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto Bushin no Jutsu!" Ino cried. With a puff of smoke, a thirteen-year-old version of Naruto appeared with a big grin on his face and a short, two-note laugh.

The Shadow Naruto looked over at the real Naruto, pointing one long finger at him.

"You!" the shadow said. "I may only be a shadow replication of who you were, but I'm _still_ going to become hokage one day! Got it?"

The real Naruto scratched the back of his head, confused. "Uh... okay. You'll have to get past me to do it, though, and you probably won't last that long, but I guess you can try."

Ino tossed the Shadow Naruto a paper envelope. "Three soldier pills. Use them when you need them, or when you want to try a rasengen."

Sakura scratched the back of her head. "Is this really a good idea, Ino? I mean... do you think they'll get along?"

Ino hesitated. "Well, they're both Naruto, right? He can get along with himself, can't he?"

Sakura sighed. "Do you remember, in your catalog of Naruto recollections, his first bell test?" Ino's flat-eyed look was all the answer she needed, as both girls recalled the incident where Naruto and his shadow clones started beating each other up because they figured one of them was an imposter. "So, I ask again, do you think they'll get along?"

"Okay," the real Naruto was saying. "We'll go in using an X formation. The two girls will be in the rear. Shadow-me, you'll be on Ino's side. I'll be on Sakura-chan's."

The younger form of Naruto pouted. "Hey. Why do you get Sakura-chan and I get stuck with the bossy girl?"

Ino blinked. Did her own shadow clone just insult her? That hadn't happened before, even when she had given it Naruto's personality in the past. Then again, this was an enhanced version of the technique... perhaps she went a little overboard.

"Because," the real Naruto reasoned. "You know as well as I do that Sakura-chan will be safer in my care."

"This is because I'm a clone, isn't it?" the Shadow protested.

"No," Naruto disagreed. "This is because I'm you, only better, and you know it. This isn't about our pride -- this is about Sakura-chan. You know why we have to do it this way, right?"

The other Naruto looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. "You're right." With that, he and the other Naruto both looked at the girls. The clone raised his arm enthusiastically as both cheered, "Let's go!"

Blinking, the two girls shrugged. It seemed that Naruto -- whether a shadow clone or his real self -- was quite enthusiastic about any form of action. With that in mind, the foursome left.

* * *

"I was thinking of using this obstacle course for the next jounin exam," Tsunade explained as she, Kakashi, Shizune, and a suddenly-appearing Jiraiya all huddled around the monitors which showed the security camera views from said obstacle course. "I think we should see how the new team seven handles it, first, though, before I make any final decision."

"No-one would pass, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune complained. "You couldn't even get through the course! You tried it alone, and then again with me and Gai-kun. We couldn't beat it!"

"I never said they would have to get through the course to pass," Tsunade noted. "And I suspect if you and I spent as much time practicing on that course as Ino and Sakura have, we'd beat it. But we'll--"

"Am I seeing double, or are there two Narutos?" Jiraiya asked.

"If you're seeing double, I am, too," Kakashi replied. He pulled up the forehead protector covering his sharingan, and took a long look at the video screen. It was pretty hard to use the sharingan with a video image, but it wasn't as completely useless as one might thing -- if a picture was distorted or out of focus due to electrical interference, his sharingan could help make the image clearer by isolating each pixel and seeing what it would have been had it not had the interference. An effect of the Eye of Insight that most people never expected. It didn't tell him much this time, however, as apparently the screen image was about as good as it was going to get. He did get a closer look, however. "One of them looks like the thirteen-year-old Naruto, though."

"Oh, that's a technique Ino's been working on," Tsunade explained. "I told both of you about her taking a mindwalk through Naruto's head, right?"

"I vaguely recall you mentioning something about that a couple years ago," Kakashi answered. "You were asking me if I thought Naruto would be upset if Konoha accepted the mission from Gaara and he found out."

"You asked me the same," Jiraiya noted.

"Well, Ino performed the technique, and it left her with a partial copy of Naruto's psyche running through her head," Tsunade explained. "As well as a couple of his techniques, although she lacked the chakra to do many of them. However, she figured out a special modification of Naruto's shadow clone technique that allowed her to create a more durable clone into which she could temporarily place her copy of Naruto's psyche. The result was a temporary Naruto. Sakura and Ino have been training with this 'Naruto clone' for about a year, now, and their teamwork with him has gotten pretty good."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head, thinking. "The Naruto of then and the Naruto of now are very different fighters," he said. "I'm not sure it will actually help them work together."

"Mm," Kakashi grunted. "Teaching teamwork isn't really your thing, is it, Jiraiya-sama? I'm actually quite encouraged by this. I saw a lot of improvement in the teamwork between Naruto and Sakura, just in the first ten seconds of me giving them the second bell test. Whether it has to do with this training, or with the fact that both Sakura and Ino actually respect Naruto as both a person and a ninja, I don't know. But, they will work well together."

"But will the Naruto of the past work well with the Naruto of the present?" Shizune asked.

* * *

Four large logs, impossibly to dodge, were converging on Sakura. At once, without a word to anyone, both Narutos leapt into action. The older Naruto leapt in front, and started reaching back, while the younger started to leap feet-first into his outstretched arms.

"Henge!" the shadow Naruto called, transforming into -- of all things -- an iron-headed mallet.

The real Naruto took the new hammer and spun, using the momentum of the shadow's leap and the centrifugal force of his own movements to make the Hammer-Naruto smash through each log with no difficulty.

Immediately after the clone released his henge, Sakura started to verbally tear into them. After all, if there was one thing she was good at, now, it was physical strength -- she could have handled all four logs, herself.

* * *

As Tsunade watched the screen, she smirked. Both Narutos looked identically abashed, and her own student looked quite vexed. Still...

"I think that answers your question, doesn't it, Shizune?"

* * *

"You ain't half-bad," Shadow Naruto said to the real one through a number of deep, gasping breaths, several minutes later.

"Of course not," Naruto answered. "I am you, after all."

Ino and Sakura were sitting behind them, panting. They had already come further then anyone else ever had, and in fact were in the last stretch before completing the journey, and were taking the last rest they could before finishing. The two Naruto's were talking in private, trying to decide how to procede.

"I'm not going to last much longer," Shadow Naruto finally said. "But I've got one soldier pill left. That's just about enough chakra for a single rasengan... and then one other technique. I can clear the path for us to beat this course, though, with just those two things... if you'll let me."

The real Naruto frowned. "What technique are you talking about? Not--"

"Yeah," Shadow Naruto nodded. "I do mean that kinjutsu we figured out at the same time we started the sexy no jutsu. What of it?"

"But..." Naruto began, frowning. "But you'll die!"

"So?" Shadow Naruto laughed. "I've only got about an hour of life left, anyway. I told you... I would become the hokage, despite being nothing more than a clone. And I will... if you'll let me."

The real Naruto couldn't meet his eyes. "Even if we only had an hour... it'd be nice. It'd be like having a little brother, you know?"

"Ah, Konohamaru's like our little brother," the shadow replied, waving him off. "I know how you feel, of course, but think about it. If this works out, then maybe Ino will make me again some time. If she does that... well, then, I'll be back... won't I?"

Naruto grinned slightly. "Alright. Let's do it -- you clear a path, and I'll get our girls through it. Sakura! Ino! Time to go."

Standing tiredly, both girls dusted themselves off and got ready for one last sprint to the finish. Naruto stood in front of them. "Triangle formation, behind me. Shadow-me? When you're ready..."

* * *

"The audio pickup is pretty good, here," Jiraiya noted. "I think I'd like to look at these camera's sometime."

"You are _not_ allowed to use Konoha secret surveillance technology in order to peak at girls, Jiraiya!" Tsunade warned fiercely.

"But... does anyone know what kinjutsu Naruto is talking about?" the other sannin continued, ignoring the barb. "He never told me he knew any real kinjustu... do you know of any, Kakashi?"

"Not from before I started training him, no," Kakashi sighed. "Knowing him, though, it's probably something rather stupid. After all, this is the same guy who developed the 'sexy no jutsu' technique, isn't it?"

"Actually," Tsunade said, "From Ino's report, the 'sexy no jutsu' wasn't intended for real combat. He seemed to feel the only way he could learn the techniques he needed to learn in order to pass at the academy was to get his fellow students to teach him, and so he made it seem like he wanted help in making 'practical jokes' from the techniques they would practice together. The 'sexy no jutsu' was a technique he used because it let his fellow students think that he really was just being a practical joker with all the work they were putting in to helping him. When you consider how he was raised..."

"Outside of his 'perverted ninjitsu,'" Jiraiya sighed, "Every original technique of his I've seen has been rather remarkable, though usually they came about because he couldn't master a different technique properly. He'd create new techniques to bypass those areas he lacked the ability to master, and therefore produce the same result... or an even better one. I've always called him an idiot for not being able to master things faster then anyone else could possibly master them... but in truth, he's rather good at his ninjitsu. Orochimaru's evaluation of him... was completely wrong."

"Look! They're moving!" Shizune said, pointing to the screen.

Indeed, they were moving. The older Naruto was standing in front of the girls, as they moved forwards. They saw the clone take a soldier pill, then make a single clone. With the two clones side by side, one of the old-style Naruto's three-handed rasengan was begun. The obstacle in front of them was a wall, filled with blades which would cut apart anyone who tried to climb it. The only ways to pass it were to leap over it -- a near impossible feet, even for a ninja of jounin caliber -- or to destroy it. Obviously, 'destroy it' was the option they had chosen. 

With a loud explosion, a hole was made in the wall, large enough to run through. The shock wave of the explosion ruined most of the weaponry mounted on it, and so the obstacle was cleared. Sakura and Ino started towards the hole, but the older Naruto held them back. "Wait," he warned them, staring at the back of the other Naruto. There was only one clone, now, and he was obviously just barely able to hold himself together. He stood proudly, though, looking at his accomplishment. In very slow moves, he turned around to look at the others. He gave them a small wave.

"It's been fun," he said. The resolution of the television monitor was too poor to see it, but there were tears in the eyes of the real Naruto. The clone closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Through the hole, they could see their next obstacle gathering together -- a series of animatronic training dummies, which had to be fought through in order to reach the finish line. The only way they would be deactivated is if someone pressed a button on the other side of their battlefield... or the whole course was shut down, whichever came first. The shadow clone turned to face them -- there were hundreds, and everyone knew that they were designed to repair themselves if damaged -- it would be a hard slog through, that was almost guaranteed. Almost. Opening his eyes, Shadow Naruto glared at the marionettes and cried out in a loud voice, "I told you all -- I would be hokage one day! Hokage no jutsu!"

Speed unknown before to the younger Naruto propelled him forward as such a rate he left after-images, or shadows of himself in his wake. Just as he reached the line of advancing dolls, he exploded into a ball of flame, the momentum of his charge carrying it the length of the field. The explosion was powerful, destroying all of the dolls and even knocking down the rest of the wall behind him... and so the Shadow Clone of Naruto was no more.

"Naruto," the observers heard in a choked gasp, coming from Sakura.

* * *

Tsunade shook her head. "Turn it off. Let's go and meet them... but slowly. We need to talk to them, but I think they need to talk with each other, first."

The tears in Sakura's eyes weren't hidden from anyone. "Naruto..." she gasped.

The only remaining Naruto -- the real one -- shook his head as if to clear it. "Come on," he said hoarsely. "Let's not make his sacrifice meaningless."

Staggering behind him in both shock and exhaustion, the two girls followed as he ran forward to the button on the other side of the field. There was no opposition -- those training dummies which were still intact enough to rebuild themselves were still in no shape to fight, and many of them weren't even able to begin repairs on their own. No-one said anything, however, and even the soulless and lifeless dolls which were meant to attack them seemed to appreciate the solemnity of the moment. Finally, they reached their target, and pressed the button. The course was wrecked, but it would repair itself in time -- Asuma was, if nothing else, a genius when it came to engineering, especially the sort of engineering your average ninja had to do. However, the trio didn't even care -- none of them wanted to see that course, ever again.

"How... I didn't even know he could do that," Ino said finally, breaking the silence. "I thought I knew everything he could do, but... I don't even know that technique! And he came out of my mind! How--"

"I knew you were coming," Naruto explained. "So, I hid the things I didn't want anyone to ever see in my memories, with kyuubi's help. It appears, though, that the part of my psyche which went over to you when you left took that technique with it... but kept it in hiding for its own reasons."

"When in the world did you come up with that? That's... more powerful then the rasengan!" Ino gasped, the realization coming to her as she said it.

"Since my Academy days," Naruto explained. "Once I learned transformation, I developed the 'sexy no jutsu.' The sexy no jutsu, however, was proof of something to me -- if I could change myself enough to be a girl with the transformation technique, I could transform myself into anything... an animal, a stone... a shuriken. But I also realized that if what I transferred myself into dissappeared after the transformation, I would die. I came up with the 'hokage no jutsu' before I even learned 'kage bushin,' and realized right away that I should treat it as it was... a kinjutsu. No-one else knows that technique, to my knowledge... I imagine anyone else coming up with it would have died before they could tell anyone, or would have sealed it away, themselves. But I always remembered I had it... just in case."

"Naruto," Sakura repeated, the tears still coming. "How many times... how many times have you said that stupid line about becoming hokage one day, and meant... that?"

He wouldn't look at her. "I didn't even know that was possible, back when I swore to myself that I would become hokage."

Sakura grabbed him by his shoulder, spinning him around to face her. Sad, angry tears were in her face, but her look was hard and furious. She forced him to meet her eyes, and said, "That was not what I asked, and you know it. How many times has that line about becoming hokage meant that! Answer the question!" She started relatively calmly, but by the end, she was almost shrieking. The tears wouldn't stop coming, now -- she had to know, just had to, if he had ever really considered using it before. She just had to.

"Once or twice," Naruto admitted. "The closest I ever came to using it was against Gaara during the Sand-Sound war... I was saving the last bit of my chakra to use with that technique as I was crawling to his fallen body. I had to protect everyone... I had to save your life. Sasuke told me that he'd let you go, finally, so I just gave out. I didn't need to use it after all... but I almost did. Another few feet, and I would have used it."

The slap Sakura delivered echoed throughout both the training ground and the surrounding forest. Naruto found himself crashing to the ground... before being caught by her and pulled into a bone-crunching hug. "Dammit, Naruto... never, ever, _ever_ use that technique. Swear it to me! Give me your word, dammit, and promise me that you'll never use that technique!"

"I can't," Naruto replied softly. He felt her arms go slack around him, but then he decided to temper his answer a bit. "I will swear never to use it unless I am certain that I will be killed whether I use it or not, however."

"If that is the really the only time, fine. Not even if my life is on the line, Naruto," Sakura warned, burying her head in his shoulder to hide her growing tears. "And _don't _pull that crap about 'Well, we'll all die sometime,' on me, either. Got it?"

Naruto nodded, using a free arm to hold her and cradle the back of her head as she sobbed. "I promise. And I won't go back on my word... that is my way of the ninja."

* * *

Notes: Well, I hope everyone likes that as a stopping point for now. For the record, I made up the 'hokage no jutsu,' though I wouldn't be surprised if such a technique existed in the manga. For those of you who don't know, 'Hokage' means 'fire shadow.' And that's just what becomes of the user of said technique -- they throw themselves at the opponent so fast they leave their 'shadow,' or afterimage, behind, and use that momentum to spread the flames of their own self-combustion (which is achieved via a 'henge' technique). Obviously, as the fire burns itself out with no fuel, there will be nothing left of the user when it's completed -- not even a body. Nasty thing, ain't it? I know there's a hole in this, though -- 'If kage bushin'd people can do this, why hasn't Naruto tried with one of his own shadow clones, before?' The answer, coming in the next chapter, is 'he didn't know what effect that would have on himself.' More explanations coming in the next chapter, as well as (hopefully) several people saying farewell as they prepare to leave on the week-long trip. Someone asked for an estimate of how long volume 3 will be... the answer is, 'as long as it takes.' I always anticipated this being the longest of the four volumes, but then again I hadn't anticipated on either one or two going on for as long as they did. If I were to give an estimate right now, it would be... fifteen to eighteen chapters for vol. 3, and five to ten for volume 4. Then the one-part epilogue to finish it all up. Well, that's it. Until next time. 


	14. V3 Chapter 4

Volume 3

Notes: Please remember, the 'rasenganhokage no jutsu' conclusion to the obstacle course had been a while in coming. Both girls were worn down to exhaustion, and the Shadow Naruto had already exhausted two soldier pills. The real Naruto may not have exhausted himself, but he was what made up the difference for Ino and Sakura to reach the end of the course. It isn't that Tsunade (and her team) didn't have the ability to complete the course, per se, it was that she needed a lot more experience to do so... Ino and Sakura have been running this course possibly two or three times a week for more than a year, whereas Tsunade has only run it a couple times. Ino and Sakura know how to get through it further then anyone else, in large part because they know it so well... but they didn't have the power to beat it alone. I didn't show the whole course, in part, because it would have bloated the chapter unnecessarily... and I had other reasons, as well, which may or may not come up in the future. However, I thought I had given the impression that they spent a lot of effort to get that far, even if I wasn't trying to call attention to the length of the course. I did show the important bits -- the hokage no jutsu, and Sakura's reaction to it, and the fact that Ino's 'Naruto Bushin no Jutsu' creates something even she isn't fully aware of the abilities of. Now, on to the fic.

* * *

Chapter 4

The scene into which Tsunade, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Shizune stepped in to was almost heartbreaking. Naruto was sitting against a tree, holding a still-in-tears Sakura as gently as he could. His own eyes were closed, so it wasn't possible to see if he was crying as well, but from the odd sniffle emerging from him it wouldn't surprise anyone if he was. Ino was there, as well, but she didn't look like she knew what to do. She was obviously puzzled, and concerned, but she didn't want to interrupt the pair. None of them did, actually -- but someone would have to. Someone had to talk with them all about thier experience through the course; the sooner someone would talk with them, the sooner they could be taken care of like they needed to. While they all looked like they could be brought back to good physical health with just a bath, a few band-aids, and a good night's rest, they needed some help to get through the emotional wounds.

Jiraiya scratched his head uncertainly. "Eh... so, why's everyone so upset?" he finally said. "You're all okay, right?"

Sakura, displaying the flexibility of a contortionist, managed to turn all the way around without disturbing Naruto. It became apparent that the boy had fallen asleep with her in his arms, and she didn't seem very interested in getting out of them. "He was going to use that technique," she whispered hoarsely.

"Eh?" Jiraiya said, startled. "What do you mean? When?"

"I asked him how many times he meant... that... when he claimed he would be hokage one day. He said 'once or twice.'" Sakura glared at them all accusingly. "I know he was lying. He knows I know. But I won't call him on it... because I'm not sure I want to hear how many times he's really intended to kill himself, and I don't think he really knows. But he almost used the technique, once... just to save me. I've talked with Ino, who's seen it through Naruto's memories, and a ninja toad who witnessed the fight with Gaara, so I have a pretty good idea what was going on, there. After beating down Shukaku, he'd saved Konoha. He had to know that Konoha was safe from him by then... but he kept going, because he thought I was in trouble. So he literally crawled over to Gaara with his chin, saving all of his remaining chakra so he could do that last... suicidal technique. To save me... and I'd never even given him a real look before that!" Her tears were coming down again. "But that isn't the worst of it. I know he was going to kill himself for me... but I wonder how many times he's considered using that technique, just to end it all... I'd never even noticed how bad his life was until recently, but now I wonder if maybe I don't even know the half of it. What would drive a person to even consider doing something like that? Huh? And how did he survive until now, if he's been so bad off he's really considered that as many times as I'm afraid he has, huh? Does anyone have an answer to that? Anyone?"

"I do," Ino whispered. "He's living for you. Everything is for you. He drove himself out of insanity as a nine year old by telling the Third that he would do everything in his life to do the job he felt the hokage wasn't doing -- because the Third was trying to help him, instead of helping this little pink-haired girl who they could both see was crying because she was being picked on. He said he'd become the hokage, to become better then the hokages, because he felt he was born for everyone to hate so that no-one else would ever be sad. He's grown a lot since then, and 'becoming hokage' niether means that, nor does it mean, really, that he wants to make everyone happy at the cost of himself. He's gotten a lot more confident in himself, a lot more comfortable with himself, and no longer believes that he was 'born to be hated.' That, possibly, makes it harder for him, sometimes... before, he had this fantasy that he was some sort of noble sacrifice for the happiness of others, and so as long as he could bear it everyone would be happy. Now, he knows the real reason everyone hated him... and how many of those who hate him aren't being helped by him living, but would instead be greatly relieved if he died. However, part of his oath to become hokage included an oath to make you happy... and so he lives to ensure your happiness." She paused. "He promised you he wouldn't use that technique, even if your life were in danger... but if you died, I think his 'way of the ninja' wouldn't matter to him any more, and I don't think he could keep his word. _You _are why he lives."

"Why?" Sakura gasped. "Why me? I've... I've never..."

"Because he's Naruto," Kakashi said, stepping forward. "He decided, before he even knew you, that you were worth something to him. Do you really think he could let that go, no matter what you do to him? He wants to protect Konoha, and make its people happy, despite how just about everyone in the village hated him and mistreated him. He can't let Konoha go, so what makes you think he'll let you go?"

Sakura collapsed into tears again, and Tsunade finally intervened on behalf of her apprentice.

"Come on," she said, bending over to pick up both the sleeping Naruto and crying Sakura. "Let's get you to the hospital. And don't feel so sad... if I were you, I'd be happy that I'd finally figured him out. And I'd be happy I figured him out before something irreversable happened. You know him, now... so stop your tears, and decide what to do with him."

"What to do with him?" Sakura repeated, turning her head to look at his sleeping face.

"You control whatever happens," Tsunade explained. "He made that clear with how he fought Sasuke. If he hadn't promised you that he would bring Sasuke back for you, he would have killed him. He puts your happiness above his own life, and will do anything to make you happy. I strongly suggest you make him realize you're happier with him alive then with him dead, because if he ever believed otherwise..."

"I'll tell you now," Jiraiya said, breaking in. "That isn't the only kinjutsu Naruto knows. Others -- both those I'm aware of, and those I am not -- may be just as harmful to him, and this is the only one he has promised you he would not use."

"I figured that," Sakura answered softly. "But... at least now I know when he talks about his dream of being hokage, he isn't talking about killing himself. That was what I needed to hear."

* * *

The somber mood on the training course was quickly broken when Naruto woke up on the way to the hospital. He hadn't really needed to sleep -- he just felt so warm and comforted, being able to hold Sakura in his arms like he always wanted to, and so relaxed with the release of certain emotions and personal secrets he'd been holding in for years, that he couldn't help but take a nap. However, being carried away woke him up, and he'd completely forgotten about the burden in his arms when he woke up, and didn't notice he was being carried himself. He tried sitting up... which caused a rather rapid and painful chain reaction for all involved.

"Ow!" Tsunade cried, as Naruto accidentally head-butted her chin.

"Oof!" Sakura cried, falling to the ground.

"Ack!" Naruto gasped, having been dropped on top of her.

"You hit me!" Tsunade exclaimed.

"You dropped me!" Sakura accused.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked plaintively.

With all of the concern that had built up over the revelation of Naruto's 'hokage no jutsu' technique, this little bit of slapstick was all that was needed to relieve the tension. "Bwahahaha!" Ino laughed, falling to the ground clutching her chest in laughter. Jiraiya, helping steady a dizzy Tsunade, couldn't hold back a chuckle. The only one who didn't reveal any outward amusement was Kakashi... although that was probably because his smile was well hidden behind his mask.

"Come on, you lot," he said, helping Naruto and Sakura up, respectively. "Let's get your injuries all bandaged up, and then we'll see about your punishment for violating orders."

All along the way to the hospital, Sakura was berating Naruto in a quiet conversation.

"I can't believe you dropped me," she muttered.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto apologized. "I didn't know what I was doing -- I was disoriented."

"That's no excuse," Sakura complained. "You still should have been able to tell you were carrying someone in your arms."

"But Sakura-chan..."

That little spat continued for quite some time, and during it all Naruto wasn't able to look into her face. If he had, however, it would have been easy to see just why Sakura wouldn't let it go -- she was ashamed... and embarrassed, too. Ashamed for having neglected Naruto as long as she had... and embarrassed for having been in his arms for him to drop. She knew it was wrong to take it out on him, but she knew he could deal with her mild admonishments. She'd make it up to him, later, when she had gotten over her embarrassment enough to talk about it. It helped her conscience to remember that the one thing she wasn't complaining about was that he had been holding her, in the first place. Hopefully, that would keep him happy long enough for her to regain her wits around him.

Just as they reached the hospital doors, Sakura's mother was leaving them.

"Mom!" Sakura exclaimed, suddenly forgetting her own troubles. "What are you doing here?"

The Haruno woman laughed. "Oh, your father fell off his cart, a couple days ago. He has a deep bone bruise in his hip, but insisted on carrying on like nothing was happening. I finally got fed up with his whimpers every time he tried to sit down, and brought him here to see what they would do. The hospital technicians looked at him, and have him confined to a bed... tied down, so that he won't roll over onto his poor old bruised butt, again." She looked at her daughter, raising an eyebrow. "You look a bit beat up. What happened?"

"Just a particularly grueling training session, Haruno-san," Tsunade explained.

"Of course, as if the training session wasn't bad enough," Sakura huffed. "This idiot had to drop me while he was carrying me to the hospital!"

"I told you I was sorry, Sakura-chan," Naruto protested weakly.

Tsunade grinned at their bickering, but otherwise pretended she didn't hear a thing. "Just about everything you see on them will heal within a couple days. I could treat them, myself, but why waste the chakra when a few small bandages and some antiseptic cream will do the job?"

"I suppose," Haruno-san agreed.

"By the way, Haruno-san?" Tsunade began. "Could I see you in my office some time later this afternoon? I'd like to talk with you about coming back to work for us. I know you don't want to resume full-time duties as a kunoichi, but I was hoping maybe we could talk you into some sort of training position. I understand you're an expert when it comes to the care and handling of bladed weapons, and was hoping you might be willing to take a teaching role at the academy for such things."

"I'll stop by," Sakura's mother agreed. "But don't expect me to say yes. It's been so long since I really trained that I'm not sure I could perform a proper simple transformation any more, much less a 'bushin no jutsu,' so... Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled, wiping a small tear she hadn't realized she'd released from her eyes. "It's nothing you need to worry about, mom, but I'll stop by this evening for dinner and we can chat about it, then."

Her mother didn't look entirely convinced. "Well... if you say so, dear."

Tsunade gave the older Haruno woman a slow nod, as if to say that yes, Sakura did need to talk about it, before saying, "Come on. Let's get you three bandaged up. We still have a few things we need to talk about before your dinner."

* * *

That night at dinner, Haruno-san heard it all. From the mission to Sand, where Sakura's theories about Naruto being the container for a greater demon were confirmed, to the date, to breaking the hokage's own orders in order to make a run on the obstacle course, to the Shadow Naruto's use of the 'hokage no jutsu.' Some of it shocked her -- the strength of Akatsuki, for one, and the realization that many of the times people thought Naruto was just being a little kid talking about how he'd grow up one day to become hokage he was actually thinking of committing suicide. By the end, she was joining her daughter in a good cry. She had grown to really love that boy, and suspected her daughter would, too, one day -- more so than ever after hearing the pain in her voice when talking about it all.

"It's okay, honey," she whispered comfortingly. "What he's talking about... it's in the past. He's no longer alone, and no longer quite so universally hated. I happen to know your whole academy year thinks he's a pretty good guy. Ino's parents have actually turned around, and respect him more then you'd think. Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenei, Gai, Genma, Ebisu, and several other high-level jounin and chuunin have all taken an interest in his upbringing and well-being. He's got the hokage, herself, looking after him. He's got the people who work at the Ichimaru Ramen, he's got Konohamaru and his friends who all look up to him, he's got Jiraiya-sama the sannin training him, and he's got Iruka-sensei treating him like a son. And then there's you... you're starting to recognize him for who he is, and he's blossoming under it." She paused. "And I think you're blooming, as well -- I think it was his example, back when he and the other men of your academy class went to retrieve Sasuke, that helped you decide to do what you had to in order to become the strong kunoichi you're becoming."

"He was," Sakura admitted.

"Well, I suspect he'll come to realize that you're becoming a better person because of him. From what you've told me... I suspect he's got more reason to live, now, then he ever has in his life. He'll be okay."

"Thanks, mom," Sakura said, giving her mother a tight hug.

"Urk! Careful! That's a very strong grip you've got, there, honey, and I'm not as tough as I used to be," Haruno-san teased. "Naruto-san might be able to take it, but I need a bit of exercise, first."

"Mom!" Sakura blushed. "Look... I kind of figured out that you were 'testing the waters' about me maybe being willing to date Naruto a while ago, despite the demon inside him. I hadn't gotten over Sasuke-kun, then, though. I still haven't, really, and might never get over him..."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "I'm sensing a 'but' coming on."

"But... Naruto lives to make me happy. So maybe... maybe I'd be willing to... consider it. At some point," Sakura admitted.

Haruno-san chuckled. "Might I point out you went on a date with him just last night? And I know for a fact you knew, then."

Sakura smiled sheepishly. "Well, yes. I suppose what I really meant I'd be willing to consider is... well... all the stuff that goes with dating. You know... uh, serious hugging, kissing..."

"Loving? Getting married? Having kids?" her mother supplied.

"Mom!" she protested.

"Sasuke is gone, honey. You might want to really think about who else could do and be those things for you. If you're just going into 'dating Naruto' out of pity, and you're just going to be giving him 'serious hugs and kisses' because of that, then you'll be hurting him more then if you weren't dating him at all. Naruto does love you, and he'll understand whatever you decide... but don't just string him along. That, honey, would be seriously cruel."

"I'm not just 'stringing him along," Sakura said. "I know better then that. But Sasuke-kun... may come back. Naruto has promised to bring him back... and if he does come back, then..."

"Then what?" her mother asked flatly.

"Then... I don't know. I still love Sasuke-kun, though."

"So Naruto can never beat 'Sasuke-kun' in the eyes of Sakura-chan?" her mother asked, pronouncing Sakura's name with the distinct lilt Naruto would use to greet her in the morning.

"I... I never said that," Sakura replied, shamefaced. "But... I love Sasuke-kun... and while I do care greatly for Naruto-kun, too, it isn't love... yet. By the time we find him, or he comes to us... well, things may be different. I may find that Sasuke's grown into someone I cannot feel anything for, or I might discover that all I really love is a memory of a boy who never really existed. Or I may come to that point with Naruto where I would be willing to stick with him, instead. Right now, though, I don't think I can offer Naruto-kun more than 'hugs and kisses' while I try and sort all of this out."

Haruno-san sighed, leaning back away from her daughter. "I suppose that's honest enough. I happen to know you and Naruto are going on a fairly large mission, soon."

"Yeah... I might be gone for more than a year," Sakura admitted. "That's partly what tonight was all about. I was going to tell you all about it... well, what I know about it. I haven't been told much."

Haruno-san grinned slightly. "Actually, I may know more about it then you do. Hokage-sama used it as part of her pitch to get me to re-enlist. So... I'll be coming with you... although I'll be with the administrative and support ninjas, not the fighting nin. Oh, and chances are you'll be in your twenties before we all return permanently... although we'll be close enough to occasionally visit."

"There are administrative nin coming? And... what about dad? And wasn't the hokage offering you a teaching job?"

"Oh, your father will be out of the hospital before we go, and he'll come along," Haruno-san laughed. "And... well, I am going to be in a teaching job."

Sakura frowned. "You are? But... just what is this mission we're going on, anyway? Administrative nin, three full genin teams, team seven, an ANBU, possibly others, out for at least four years... just what is going on, here?"

"I can't tell you, honey," her mother answered with a slight smirk on her face. "It's a secret. I trust it isn't anything you will find _too_ objectionable, however -- in fact, I suspect you'll learn quite a bit from it."

"Can't you give me a little hint?" Sakura pleaded, knowing the answer would be 'no.' She regretted asking instantly -- when she heard her own voice, she was reminded of a little kid asking for sweets. She wasn't a little kid any more, and this wasn't a sweet she was asking for.

"One hint," her mother replied, smiling slightly. "While this is not a training mission, team seven will nevertheless be training for... training for the job."

Sakura blinked. "Job? What job? What are you talking about?"

Haruno-san just smiled.

* * *

A knock on the door woke Tsunade up from an unintended nap on top of the paperwork she'd been struggling to deal with since she got the job of hokage. She'd grown to love the job, but she'd never gotten the hang of all the paperwork involved. It seriously cut into her drinking and gambling time. Checking her face to make sure nothing was sticking to it (after the first few hundred times it happened, the learned to check and make sure she didn't look too bad after one of her 'naps.' She only remembered to do it half the time, but she was getting the hang of remembering), she called out, "Come in."

The person who walked in wasn't exactly someone she expected. She'd heard of Mitarashi Anko, before -- it was kind of hard not to have. The woman was both loved and reviled by almost everyone in Konoha as both a hero and a traitor. The woman was one of the fourth's teammates, back when they were still students under Jiraiya, and had gone on to join ANBU at a very young age, taking instruction from a second sannin -- Orochimaru -- to train in those skills taught only to ANBU. In fact, the only sannin not to have taught her -- nor to have met her -- was Tsunade, herself.

Anko was known to have dated frequently. Apparently, 'claiming' her as a student was something of a battle in the rivalry between Orochimaru and Jiraiya. She was one of those 'genius ninja's,' although she had no known bloodline ability. A brilliant student... who accepted Orochimaru's seal voluntarily, not truly understanding what it was, because she became his lover at sixteen, and his loyal apprentice. For that reason, she was considered a traitor. Because she later betrayed him to show the Third the way to Orochimaru's hideout, when it became clear to her that he was not who she believed him to be, she was hailed as a hero. She left ANBU, and in fact went into hiding, for several years afterwards. Shortly after the sealing of the kyuubi, she returned -- for the Third sought her out, himself, as they were desperate for experience ninjas to replenish their ranks. She refused to be put back into active service, but instead went into various teaching positions which did not require her to leave the village -- exam proctor, special lecturor, and so forth. As she refused to leave Konoha for any mission, Tsunade had not sought her out, either to offer her new missions nor to change her position. However, apparently, Anko had something she wanted to discuss, herself.

"Yo, old hag," the jounin said in greeting.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched. Yes, she let Naruto get away with it, but that was because Naruto was sort of special to her. "I am the hokage, you know. You might want to consider then when talking to me."

"Sure, sure," Anko waved dismissively. "Look, rumor is you're sending a couple of kids out with a small army to try and lure that Uchiha brat out into the open. Is that true?"

"Why do you want to know?" Tsunade asked cautiously.

Anko sighed, pulling down the shoulder of her dress. Pointing to a spot on her neck, she said, "I don't know how much of this you know, but your old pal Orochimaru bit me here, once... well, more then once, but only one significant time. It's a pain in the neck -- literally -- and a great weakness to have. At any moment, Orochimaru could force me into his submission... more or less. I have some power to resist, but he could pretty much stop me from doing just about anything I wanted to do on a whim. The thing is... if it weren't for this, I'm probably the best one to fight Orochimaru, since I know him even better then you do -- he taught me a lot of his stuff, after all, and much of it was stuff no-one else in Konoha has seen. But that's the thing -- I know just what he's likely to be teaching Sasuke... so maybe I could help those youngsters prepare to fight the brat, even if I can't fight him myself. So... I want in."

Tsunade stared at the other woman for a very long time. "You haven't asked to be on a mission since Orochimaru left, and now you're asking for one with a minimum four year deployment. That is a pretty big step."

"So?" Anko asked, pulling a carton of dango out from... somewhere. Tsunade would have sworn there wasn't anywhere to hide anything under the fishnet stocking the other woman wore as a shirt, but apparently a food carton was indeed concealable. "I'm a good enough ninja, and a former ANBU, so I can help with just about anything... as long as I'm not put in direct confrontation with Orochimaru. But actually, I was thinking of going to be the personal trainer of those kids."

"Jiraiya will be with them for that reason," Tsunade noted. Anko looked down, and her face sort of... deflated. Slight hints of the laugh lines which accompanied middle-age seemed to appear where they hadn't been, before. That concerned the medi-nin, so she surreptitiously used her chakra to try and diagnose the other woman. While she didn't have as clear a vision of a person's chakra as a Hyuuga, she was able to see it to some extent... and what she saw was a very bizarrely disrupted chakra system, symptomatic of the cursed seal she knew Orochimaru able to produce... but also constrained by another seal operating solely on Anko's force of will. And Anko's will was very strong... but was flagging as she watched. Seeing that, she came to a decision. "However, there is a whole team I suspect will be confronting Sasuke, so I suspect there will be times when training can be split a couple ways. You may go... but you are not in the chain of command, and you are not to train any youngsters without either Jiraiya or Kakashi watching you -- I suppose I trust you, but I don't trust that seal."

Anko's will flared as she watched. That greatly encouraged Tsunade that she made the right decision.

"I won't let you down, hokage-sama," Anko declared. "Anything I can do to stop Orochimaru... I will."

* * *

Notes: The stuff about Anko is all guesses, based upon her attitude, her odd and partially unexplained relationship with Orochimaru, and the picture of the Fourth's days as a youngster, being trained by Jiraiya. I may be all wet, there, but this is my theory as to what's really going on in the manga, although it may never come up either way. The art books say she's 24 when Naruto was 12/13, but that doesn't make sense -- even if they never were lovers, Orochimaru couldn't have been that big of an influence in her life as a genin if he really did leave the village when the Fourth was made hokage -- which, while we don't know the exact time frame, was at least twelve years before the start of the series (given Naruto's age), and likely more (I'm guessing fifteen-sixteen). In other words, the art books have likely made a mistake, so I'm guessing she's really 34 by the chuunin exam, instead, and so is 37 now. I made her greeting to Tsunade just like Naruto's because she has been compared to Naruto in attitude in the manga, so I figured she might act that way, but that's a personal decision. In other words, this Anko may or may not resemble canon Anko -- I think she does, but she's a very, ah, 'theoretical' Anko, where I essentially used a single textless frame picture of some girl at a young age and a few odd comments Orochimaru made to her to come up with a very complex storyline for her... one which I doubt is entirely true in canon, but may be partially true. Okay, next: No, I have not forgotten that Naruto, Sakura, and Ino were all going to be punished for training despite orders to the contrary. While it's really a very minor detail, I know if I don't mention 'it'll be revealed next chapter,' someone will ask the question 'what about their punishment?' Next chapter: Final farewells for Ino and Naruto -- including the explanation of Hokage no Jutsu's use with kage bushin, and why Naruto never did it himself, which I intended to put in this chapter but didn't get around to -- and maybe (just maybe) I'll reveal to you all what the mission is... if you haven't guessed it already. (I've given you all the clues, people -- any guesses? I'll say that no-one's even come close, yet) 


	15. V3 Chapter 5

Volume 3

Notes: I had an anonymous flamer complain about, not the fic, but the SUMMARY -- obviously without having actually read the fic, first. While I don't think the point should have been made that way, he did have a point -- the summary I wrote for this fic sucks. Anyone who wants a go at rewriting it (remembering that there is a very strict limit to the number of letters you can put in the summary) without presenting any spoilers, be my guest. Also, to be honest, I wasn't entirely happy with the last chapter. For one thing, I expected most of the things that'll happen this chapter to have been in it... and I kinda feel as if I flubbed the Anko scene by rushing it a bit. The thing that bothered me the most about it, though, was that so much of it was... redundant. I feel like I'd driving certain things home with a sledgehammer long after the point has been driven six feet under the ground, lying where the dead horse is supposed to be. Most of the 'redundancies' I've written before were, well, I felt they were necessary, but... well, I dunno. No-one's called me on it, so far, so maybe it's just me. At any rate, hopefully, this chapter will end that since by the end of it I expect to have the mission started, which will get us away from those things which I think have been... well, overdone already, and I don't think I'll have to repeat 'what's been going on' to anyone for quite a while... although you'll have to bear with it through part of this chapter before (I hope) I'll be in position to not have to worry about it any more. About the 'neither niether' thing -- sorry, I'm dysgraphic and mildly dyslexic. I see zero difference between ie and ei... my word processor will fix it automatically (sometimes) for some words, but apparently not for 'neither-niether.' If that bugs you too much, sorry, but it's not really something I can help. Anyway, on with the story -- enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 5

The chef of the Ichiraku Ramen restaurant took a sip of his bonito broth, checking its flavor. The regular broth was always made to a precise proportion of water to bonito flakes, and so he rarely had to adjust anything to it, but this wasn't the regular broth. This was his special 'stout' broth, which would hopefully be integrated into a new recipe he was devising. He didn't usually have time to experiment like this, but it was a relatively slow day. He only had one customer at the moment, but he was a regular customer and already fed. Although usually, by now, he'd be wanting seconds. He checked over the counter, and was astonished to see Uzumaki Naruto, who casually ate ten bowls of his ramen in a single sitting on many occasions, didn't seem to be eating. Instead, he was just stirring the soup over and over again, staring off into space. This was his best customer... and his favorite, which in the restaurant business wasn't always the same thing. He'd missed the boy over the past three years, when he had been unable to come over first because of an extended visit to the hospital and then because of a very long training trip, but he still knew what the boy was like. He might have matured over the past three years or so, but he'd been back long enough for the chef to know that his eating habits hadn't changed a bit... and that what he was doing right now was entirely inconsistent with them.

"Hey, kid," he called. "What's wrong?"

Naruto pasted a fake smile on his face. "Oh, nothing." He started eating the ramen in front of him. "Good as usual!"

The ramen chef raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh. That's why you haven't touched it until the noodles started to congeal. Hand that bowl over, kid -- that one's no good. I'll give you a replacement... but I want you to tell me just what the hell is going on, okay?"

Reluctant to part with any ramen, no matter how bad, Naruto sadly handed the bowl full of now-cold noodles to the chef, who immediately dumped it and started putting together a fresh bowl. He was even more reluctant to talk about his problems -- since when did he ever do that? But, he supposed he owed the man a word or two -- after all, he was getting his ramen replaced for free.

"It's a lot of things," Naruto finally said. "Part of it has to do with Sakura-chan. I... I'm starting to let myself hope, again, that I've got a shot... and I know I shouldn't. I know she's going to be after Sasuke as soon as I bring him back to her, and I will do that -- I promised her I would. I love Sakura-chan, you know? So, going out on dates with her, holding her when she'll let me, sharing things with her... I enjoy all of them so much, I can't stop myself from doing them, asking for them, hoping for them. But I don't stand a chance, you know? After all... who's the bigger catch? Me, or Sasuke?"

The chef snorted. "You are. Anyone who does what you do for her is the bigger catch, by far."

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto said sardonically. "I don't buy it. In Sakura-chan's eyes, Sasuke is the biggest catch of all. I can never beat him in anything, and if I do I'm just bullying him. So... Sasuke is who she wants, I'll give her Sasuke. But I need to stop letting myself hope I've got a chance... do you understand?"

The fresh bowl of ramen was sat in front of him. "Yeah. I understand that you've underestimated both yourself and your girl," the old man said. "Look, kid, I know life has been pretty hard for you, but you've turned out pretty well despite it. Sakura-san will see that, if she hasn't already, and she's smart enough to know that you'd be a pretty good catch for her, too. That means she just might decide she likes you, after all. As far as Sasuke goes, well... keep in mind she's had a few years to mature, herself. By now, maybe she's learned that there's more to making a boy a good catch then a pretty face. Sasuke may no longer be what she wants... whether she's realized it or not, yet. Give her time, and I'm pretty sure she'll start to see you as someone who's just as worthy as her idealized image of him was, or maybe even someone better."

"Time," Naruto laughed bitterly. "I've already used up all my time. Haven't you heard? Sakura-chan and I -- and a bunch of others -- are going out as bait. He's expected to come to us, and we're supposed to capture him, then. Of course, this mysterious 'mission' that we're going on that'll let us be the bait is supposed to last for a whole year or more, so I suppose that's something."

"Four years," the chef sighed. "And it's taking several of my best customers with it, too."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Four? But... I wasn't told it would be that long!"

The old man shrugged. "For some people, it'll be a different length of time. At least, that's what I've heard -- but I think you'll be asked to stay for the full four, although maybe you'll only need to stay for the first year."

Naruto scratched his head. "Why is it everyone not going on this mission seems to know more about it then those of us who are?"

"Well, I just know what everyone's been telling me," the chef explained. "People trust this old ramen slinger, so I know everything that people are willing to talk about. That means that, if twenty people get only part of the story, I'll get all twenty parts."

"Well... I guess that makes sense," Naruto mused. "So what else do I not know about this mission?"

"It's in Wave Country. That's about the only other thing I know."

Naruto blinked. "Wave? Hey, I've been to Wave, before -- why are we going there? There isn't anything there, except the bridge. Is someone going after the bridge or something?"

"Not that I've heard," the old man mused. "But I suppose it's possible."

Naruto frowned. "Well, then... I've got to get ready to go." With that, he gulped down his ramen -- faster then he normally ate, even -- and stood up. "I've got a few friends over there that'll definitely need help."

"Don't forget to report to the hokage's office in an hour -- she's sent word for me to remind you of your punishment detail," he noted.

"Yeah, yeah. I need to talk to someone who'll be staying here, though," Naruto noted. "And then I have to stop by the bank... and, well, I've just got a lot of work to do, first. If you see her, tell her I'll be late."

"Naruto!" the chef called as the teenager darted down the street. Naruto ignored him, however. "It's not a good idea to be late when the hokage wants you, boy," he said to himself, chuckling slightly.

* * *

"Ino!" came a call from over the blond girl's shoulder. She considered not stopping -- after all, she was already late -- but then again, it was her father. She had reconciled with her family too recently to ignore them when they called. Still, she hoped this particular confrontation wouldn't take too long -- she had a pretty big headache because she couldn't get to sleep the previous night. She'd been up half the night, talking with one of her Shadow Naruto clones about the 'hokage no jutsu.' Apparently, Naruto had never tried it with his own shadow clones because of a distinct difference between her clones and his -- while her 'kage bushin' clones acted just like Naruto's, the 'Naruto bushin' was slightly different. She'd modified the technique, slightly, so that she could skip the extra 'henge,' and that produced a distinct change between the clones: the 'kage bushin' clones were linked to her real body's chakra system; the 'Naruto bushin' clones, while they lacked the ability to generate chakra, had independent control over their chakra. In other words, performing the 'hokage no jutsu' technique with a 'kage bushin' clone might kill the user -- the transformation into flames might ignite the real person's chakra, as well, killing them. The 'Naruto bushin,' with no connection to her own chakra system, had no risk of igniting the real person's chakra.

The distinction left her thinking all night, making it impossible to sleep... and making her extremely unwilling to deal with her father.

"I hope this won't take long," Ino sighed, darting back to her father. "I'm already late for my punishment detail -- I'm supposed to help the hokage with her paperwork. From what I understand, you do _not _want to be late when she expects you."

"If you're already late, another minute or two won't matter," Inoichi pointed out. "I just wanted to talk with you about a few things."

Ino sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But still, I should make it snappy -- what is it?"

"I've been hearing a few things," her father said. "I understand you've been put on Team 7, with Sakura, Kakashi... and Naruto."

Ino's eye twitched. Every time he mentioned Naruto, she could hear the strain in his voice. Yes, supposedly he had decided -- after seeing his memories through her -- that Naruto was actually a lot better of a person then he believed, and deserved some respect. There was something she could hear, though, whenever he mentioned the young ninja... something which really bothered her. It was as if he was still afraid of Naruto, yet didn't want to say anything about it. Now, however, his fear wasn't manifesting itself in hatred, but instead in nervousness. An improvement, to be sure, but still not something she was happy with.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I also heard that Team 7 will be going on a multi-year mission in a few days... yet I've heard nothing about that from you. Why is that?" he asked.

"I only found out yesterday, myself," Ino pointed out. "And I've been _very_ busy since then. I was going to tell you before I left, but I haven't had time."

Inoichi at first regarded her with a disbelieving eye, but then shrugged as if he decided she was telling him the truth. "I guess that's possible. I'm sorry, Ino, I didn't mean to think you were trying to hide anything, but after you lose your daughter for over a year, you tend to get a little... paranoid, once you have her back."

Ino shrugged casually, trying to downplay the impatience she was feeling with her father. "Yes, yes. Was that all you wanted to ask me?"

"Actually... no," Inoichi admitted. "Although if you weren't going, then it would have been. Actually... I was wondering what you were planning to do with your condo while you were gone?"

"Why?" Ino asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Well, until recently, either you or Sakura would be home when the other was out on a mission, so there wasn't any real need to worry about it," Inoichi explained. "But you're both going to be gone, and it looks like for a full year at least -- possibly much longer. So, someone will need to look after it -- and there are a few options for what you can do."

"Such as?"

"Well, you could rent it out while you're gone," he suggested. "Or you could hire a caretaking service to come by once a weak, just to make sure it hasn't been broken into and to dust it out."

"Or?" Ino prompted when he didn't continue. She knew he was trying to bring something up, but she had no idea what.

"Well... Kurenai-san approached me a couple days ago," he explained. "It seems one of her students wants to move away from her clan, which is trying to force her into marriage with someone she's not interested in. She wanted to know if I had any ideas for where she might go. I thought I might... if you were going to be gone for a while."

Ino's eyes widened. Suddenly, some rumors she'd been hearing around town were starting to make sense. "This is about the Hyuuga clan trying to force Hinata to marry one of her cousins, isn't it?" she asked.

"I always knew you were a bright girl," Inoichi laughed. "Yes, this is about Hinata. Do you think that you'd be willing to let her live at your apartment while you're gone? Hopefully, by the time you get back, things will have straightened themselves out -- or at least she will be able to afford her own place -- and you'll have your condo back safe and sound. So, what do you say?"

"I guess that would be okay," Ino said. "Let me talk to Sakura, first, though -- I'm sure she'll say yes, but if I don't ask she'll complain that I'm being too bossy, again."

"Good -- I'll let Kurenai know. You do us proud on this mission. And... Ino?"

"Yeah, daddy?" Ino answered.

"Be careful," he said.

Ino twitched. The way he said that... he was still worried about Naruto, wasn't he? Still... he wasn't saying it directly, so she supposed it was okay. Still... perhaps this year or so away would be good for her. At least she wouldn't be under the stress of playing nice with her parents, any more. And saying 'no, I'm not going to be careful' wasn't exactly a very bright thing to do, was it?

"Sure thing, Daddy," she answered, forcing a happy lilt into her voice. "I'll be careful. And if something goes wrong, Naruto will be there to help protect us."

Ino wasn't watching her father's face. If she had, then maybe she would have been surprised to see the odd smile on his face as she said those words.

* * *

"Where are they?" a frustrated Sakura huffed, looking at her watch. "Am I going to have to do thier punishment for them?"

"No," Tsunade laughed. "Don't worry -- they can afford to be late. If they'd gotten here on time, they would have been waiting for you to get started, anyway." She help up a small ninja slug to her ear, and listened for a few seconds. "As far as where they are, Ino is busy with her father, and Naruto is looking for someone he needs to talk to. While they're getting that taken care of, I'll let you start your job -- I want you to sort all the papers on my desk. Seperate it into three piles -- the first pile are things that just need me to 'rubber stamp' approval. You know, things like requisition forms which have already made it this far through the beauracracy and the like. I'll deal with those things directly. The second pile -- which I'll have Ino work on -- should be simple decisions, like which genin team to send on which D-class mission and the like -- you know, no life-threatening missions and the like, but anything safe like yardwork or babysitting or the like. The final pile will be for you and Naruto to work on together -- that's for everything else... including things like who to send on suicide or probably death missions. You two will try to resolve it, yourselves, and then present to me whatever proposals you come up with."

Sakura blinked. "Why are you arranging it that way?"

"Naruto will be hokage, one day," Tsunade said. Sakura flinched slightly, reminded of the incident with the Shadow Naruto from the day before, but the hokage pointedly ignored that. "Or rather, he says he wants to be hokage. I figure maybe we should expose him to some of the less desirable aspects of the job, don't you?"

"You mean... you really think Naruto will be a hokage?" Sakura asked, surprised.

"It will be my job to name a Sixth, one day, assuming I live long enough to do it," Tsunade pointed out. With a twinkle in her eye, she added, "Naruto won the job on a bet."

"Tsunade-shishou! That's not something you're suppose to be gambling away! And just when in the world did he do that, anyway?"

Tsunade laughed. "I suppose Naruto hasn't ever had a chance to tell you the story of how he helped convince me to take this job, did he?"

Sakura stared back, dumbfounded. "He did _what?_ How did he do that? I didn't even know Naruto had _met_ you, before the time he was arguing against taking that mission you tried to assign him."

"Hmm. I guess you were a bit... distracted, back then," Tsunade mused. "Sasuke was hospitalized, and I believe you were at his bedside every day, back then."

"Living in a fantasy world," Sakura sighed, staring at her hands. "I thought he'd appreciate the fact that I was nursing him. But so... what's the story?"

"Well, I don't know everything," Tsunade admitted. "I do know that Jiraiya was asked to seek me out and offer me the job -- and that they left before Sasuke was injured. He brought Naruto along because Akatsuki was known to be looking for him, and Jiraiya knew he was just about the only person who could stand up to a member of Akatsuki in Konoha. Along the way, he started teaching Naruto the Rasengan. I didn't know this, of course -- I assumed that Naruto had been studying it for about a year. After all, when I met him -- and he challenged me to a fight because I'd insulted the hokages -- he had only completed the first two stages of the technique. It took the Fourth three years to learn the technique, and the stage Naruto was at had only been reached after his first year of study. So, when Naruto said that he could master the technique in just three days, I made a bet with him. I gave him a week -- if he could master the rasengan in seven days, I would give him the necklace my grandfather, the First, gave me... and I'd recognize him as a future hokage. I was planning to turn down the position of the Fifth at the time, mind -- I was pretty jaded. So, when we got into a fight with Orochimaru one week later, he came in without much other than his guts and tried to save me from being captured in a battle that was way over his level. Well, he mastered the rasengan -- right then and there, mid-battle -- and therefore won the bet. So... when the time comes, I will name him hokage. If he still wants the job, that is -- so I think maybe we should give him an idea of what the job is really like, don't you?"

"And why am I helping him, then?" Sakura asked. "I have no desire to be hokage, you know."

"Hm," Tsunade mused. "Just what positions did the Third's teammates take when he became hokage, huh?"

Sakura nearly choked on her own spit as she realized what the hokage meant. "I don't want to become an Advisor, either!"

Tsunade laughed. "Well, I didn't want to be Fifth. You never know what will happen, do you?"

* * *

As he leapt from building rooftop to building rooftop, Naruto finally spied one of the many people he was looking for. With one last leap, he jumped down in front of the other boy, hoping to make conversation.

"Yo, Kiba!" he said, his hand raised in greeting.

Kiba, startled by the sudden appearance of the blond ninja, nearly fell over backwards trying to get himself into a defensive stance. Once he realized just who it was in front of him, he caught himself. "Naruto!" he growled angrilly, clenching his fists tightly. "Don't _scare _me like that! Do you want me to kill you or something?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, confused. "I just said 'yo.' There's no reason to be so mad at me."

"You just said 'yo' after jumping no more than an inch from my _face!_" Kiba snarled. "I would have killed you if I hadn't recognized you in time."

"Uh... if you say so," Naruto said, shrugging. "Anyway, Kiba, I'm going away for as many as four years, and Sakura-chan's coming with me--"

"I know," Kiba sighed. "So are a couple of my relatives."

"Which means that I don't have anyone around here my bank will accept to withdraw funds from my account," Naruto continued.

"You gave Sakura access to your bank account?" Kiba asked, bewildered.

"It's about the Ichiraku," Naruto soldiered on, ignoring the questions because he was in such a hurry. "I regularly spend about 30 Ryou at the Ichiraku every day."

"That's ten bowls a day," Kiba noted weakly.

"So I figure if I go away for a long time, it'll hurt the chef and his family," Naruto explained. "Unless I make arrangements for someone else to pick up the slack. While I was out training, I had Sakura try and take care of that for me--"

"So that's why she started those weekly parties at the Ichiraku," Kiba mused.

"But if she's not going to be here, I need to find someone else to do it for me," Naruto finished. "I can get the bank to send someone the money, but the chef won't accept charity from me. So, I need someone to go in and spend about two hundred a week at the Ichiraku while I'm gone."

Kiba hesitated. "I'm... not really into ramen. Why don't you ask Iruka-sensei?"

"Good idea!" Naruto exclaimed. "I was just looking around for someone I'd trust to actually do this for me, and you were the first person I saw, but I know that Iruka-sensei likes Ichiraku ramen. Thanks for the suggestion!"

"No problem," Kiba answered, still a bit perplexed at how it was possible for someone to eat ten bowls of ramen a day. Was that the only thing he ever ate? "Um... by the way... could I ask you a favor?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure thing, but I'm in a hurry. I'm late to meet the hokage, but I still need to talk to Iruka-sensei first."

"Right, this won't take long," Kiba said, waving him off. "It's about your trip. My older sister and one of my favorite cousins is going to be on it, with you, so... I was hoping you'd look out for them, would you?"

Naruto nodded. "I'll keep everyone safe, if I can."

"Good," Kiba nodded. "But there's something else. My sister, Hana... she's still a rookie jounin. She passed the chuunin exam the usual way, but... her promotion to jounin came about because she was a veterinarian specializing in the treatment of animal nin, and she's not sure that her skills are up to par with a jounin who came up the regular way. I was kinda hoping that, maybe, you could help train her a bit. You know, help her build up her skills."

Naruto scratched his head. "If I can, sure. Why not? Look, I've gotta go, see ya later."

Kiba watched Naruto speed away, a wry smile on his face. "Asking a chuunin to make a jounin feel more like she deserves the promotion by training her. Hana, dear sis, please realize... Naruto's not your ordinary chuunin."

* * *

The final total for the number of people leaving on the largest non-wartime mission in Konoha history was an even thirty. Team seven was joined by the three genin teams lead by Hana, Ebisu, and Genma. Jiraiya, Yuugao, Anko, and Asuma were also coming along, although Asuma wasn't supposed to stay with the team for long and Jiraiya was probably going to be going on some independent missions from time to time. They had a sizable wagon train, as well, carrying supplies and a few personal effects as needed for more than a year abroad, which was occupied by another ten civilians and administrative ninjas -- including Sakura's parents. They were told at the gates to Konoha that their mission would be explained after they set up camp that night, and without any more words then that they were ordered to set out.

Travel was slow going, as any large group of soldiers was -- every military formation could only move as fast as its slowest unit, after all. By the time they reached the area previously selected to be that evening's campground, it had already gone dark... despite the fact that it was summer, and the days were long.

Setting up camp with little to no light proved troublesome to just about everyone who didn't have something to compensate for it -- such as a byakugan eye, a sharingan eye, a dog who could smell out the area and communicate to their master, or enough chakra to burn as a sort of night light. By the time everyone was done they all were feeling rather irritated about the whole thing, even those with the special abilities -- largely because the ones without were constantly underfoot. When the call for a general assembly came, most everyone was feeling rather as if they didn't care what the mission was, so long as they could just get to bed quickly and rest up from a long, tiring day of travel.

"All right, people," Kakashi began. He was apparently the person in charge of the expedition, although Jiraiya, Genma, some of the administrative jounin (including Sakura's mother), and Anko were all his equal in rank or better. No-one seemed to complain, however, as he took the mantle of command. "It's time to explain our orders. Secrecy had to be maintained until now, not because of any threat to Konoha... but because if word got out, there would be a threat to where we're going. Ladies and Gentlemen, a treaty has been negotiated with the Country of Wave. Under this treaty, Konoha will be providing for the Country of Wave its very own hidden village. This does not mean we are going to become independent of Konoha -- rather, we are setting up a satellite village for our people. As analysis continues into the successes and failures of the Sand-Sound War, Konoha has decided to revise certain policies. In the event of another war and a devestating loss, there will be a place for us to regroup and strike back from. Also, if we discover a talented ninja who's loyalties are... questionable, we have a place to train them without revealing our greatest secrets. To that end, we are being sent to set up this new satellite village, start running light missions from there, and establish training grounds for additional talent. Our forehead protectors will remain the leaf of Konoha, but we will also be given sets of fingerless gloves as part of our uniforms, displaying our additional allegiances. For most of us present, this tour of duty will last one to four years and you will be rotated out once that time is completed. I, however, may be asked to remain considerably longer... for I will be made the village's Jounin-Oyabun."

Boss Jounin. In non-Kage villages large enough to have more than one jounin, such as the Rain or the Grass, the Jounin-Oyabun was the village head -- no-one superceded his authority in their lands, and occasionally they would be as powerful, politically, as some of the weaker Kage villages (the Mist, for example, which was the smallest of the five Kage villages). That the satellite village was intended to be large enough to justify one meant that this new village was not supposed to be some sort of temporary construct, built for the soul purpose of strategic positioning for some war (as had happened on occasion during the Rock War more than a decade before) and designed with the intention of being abandoned after some goal was achieved, but was in fact a permanent facility for Konoha to maintain for many decades to come.

"Wow," Sakura breathed. Naruto and Ino both shared similar sentiments, but niether expressed them verbally.

"Of course, most of you may be allowed to remain in the new village, if you wish -- after all, it will need permanent settlers, and just bringing in local recruits will not be enough." Kakashi continued. "However, we will organize things as best we can to provide a proper chain of command, once we get there, anticipating your return home in the scheduled one to four year -- meaning you'll probably have to start grooming a possible successor before you decide for certain whether you want to stay or not. Currently, the prime minister of Wave is constructing the village, and there should be some permanent structures for us as we arrive. From the time we arrive there, until the time we leave, we will be identified as members of this new village. We will be called the village of Blossom, and our ninjas will be known as the Konoha Blossoms." He grinned visibly under his mask. "Since most of you are genin, I sincerely hope you live up to your new name... and blossom."

* * *

Notes: The thing about Hinata and her arranged marriage will not be directly resolved in this story (although indirect references to her ongoing story will be made throughout the remainder of this fic, possibly including a short explanation of how the conflict is resolved). It's a reference to a related side-story (or side-stories) which I may or may not get around to writing, dealing with certain people like Lee, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, TenTen, and the others of the 'rookie nine' who's tales are neglected in this fic. Certain references will be made to the goings-on in said side-story from this point on (and, in fact, a very few already have been). That is not to say these characters will be completely absent from the main fic, just that they've got their own lives and problems which aren't necessarily related to this main storyline. Anything referenced will have the 'conclusion' relayed, as well, in the epilog -- just so all the loose ends get tied together -- but don't expect much detail on these subplots until after I've finished this main fic. Except possibly Lee... I may decide to make his storyline more central (especially if I decide to give him the 'glorious death scene' I have considered doing. Heh -- but I might emphasize it even if I don't kill him off) depending on how well certain other ideas I have turn out. The conversation between Ino and her father which dealt with Hinata's story did have other things in it which are mainline story related, so don't think I'm adding extraneous bits for a fic I may never get around to writing. If I never get it written, think of it as proof that the world doesn't revolve around Naruto and the 'neglected' characters aren't being forgotten -- just kept busy with other things. Okay, other business: Well, I'd like to congratulate Sunder the Gold for guessing the mission -- and to Seek and Search and Destroy for getting close. Good work! Now all we've got to see is how things play out in the 'new village' now that people know what's going on. 


	16. V3 Chapter 6

Volume 3

Notes: Okay, so y'all didn't like the name 'Blossom.' I figured 'satellite of a leave -- oh, a blossom!' but apparently that wasn't well recieved. It was better then my earlier option (which was 'Twig'), especially as just about everyone in the town is going to 'blossom' into better ninjas and better people. Well, most of them, anyway. It's too late to change it, anyway, so I'm afraid you'll just have to deal with it. Here's the next chapter, enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 6

Notes: Thanks to JohnnyG for reminding me of a certain mistake regarding Dan's relationship to Shizune. This chapter has been re-uploaded with that relatively minor changed fixed. (I'm not getting in the habit of this, but that was something I flubbed on and had to fix)

_

* * *

Wagons, Sakura mused, __make carrying things easier... but for a ninja, it can really slow you down._ Sakura mused, 

They were within sight of the small town built around the Naruto Bridge, but it had taken longer to get there then even Kakashi had expected. With the wagon train in tow, they were forced to follow the main roads instead of saving time by taking less developed paths. Rains tormented them from the second day onward, causing many of the roads -- unpaved in many of the areas they were travelling -- to become nothing but a series of giant mud puddles which they were constantly forced to dig out of. What had been for Team Seven's first trip a three day trip, and for Sakura's chuunin test a two week trip, took almost a full month during the rainiest part of the year. People and animals -- including Futaba's dog, Gonta -- fell ill, and had to be loaded onto the wagons to travel. Udon had pneumonia, never being the healthiest of ninjas in the first place, and just about everyone was miserable. Ino refused to even look in anything even mildly reflective, afraid of how horrible she must have looked with all the mud and dirt caked on her.

Nevertheless, they'd finally made it, alive and mostly intact. Everyone was breathing a sigh of relief as they finally were able to check into an inn for the night.

"Okay," Kakashi said. "Asuma, why don't you go see if you can get everyone rooms. I'm going to go find the mayor and let him know we've arrived. Sakura, you're the only true medi-nin we've got -- so far, we've only had some of the administative nurses looking at Udon, but they don't have any medical ninjitsu. See if you can figure something out to get him on his feet, again. Hana, you've got time to check out your dogs, but first see to the stabling of the mules. Naruto, with me. Everyone else, wait here for Asuma-san to finish up, then check in to your rooms. Jiraiya, I know you don't want to be in charge, but see if you can look after everyone until I get back."

"Yes, sir," came the a rather tired response. Even Jiraiya, after such a miserable journey, seemed compliant with Kakashi's requests. Everyone with a job dispersed, and so Kakashi pulled out a map and started searching around the town.

As Naruto followed Kakashi while the older ninja made his way around the unfamiliar town, he glanced around curiously. For some odd reason, people were looking at him oddly... but not in the same way as they used to look at him back in Konoha. It almost resembled... respect? He'd never really been looked at with respect, before -- at least, not by complete strangers. It felt very odd to him. However, he decided he would ignore it, much as he ignored the taunts and scowls in Konoha.

"Kakashi-sensei," he began when they came to a stop.

"Hm?" Kakashi grunted, trying to decipher the map.

"Why did you ask me to come with you?"

"Hm," Kakashi muttered, finally deciding on a direction. "Because, for all intents and purposes, you're going to be the second ranking ninja in Blossom."

Naruto blinked. "Eh? But... what about the closet pervert, and the dog girl, and Asuma, and Anko, and Genma, and ero-sennin, and... and... um, that ANBU girl, and--"

"Yes, they all are jounin or better, and you're just a chuunin. However, they aren't going to be in the chain of command -- you're going to be to me what Shizune-san is to Tsunade-sama. Technically, Shizune-san is nothing more than a genin, having never even gone through a chuunin exam -- in fact, she might not even be that. She was still an academy student when Dan, Tsunade-sama's lover, was killed... who also happened to be Shizune's uncle. Tsunade was... unable to function as a ninja, after that, and so left the village... and Shizune left with her, without having ever graduated from the Academy. Because she was Tsunade's student and attendant, however, she's the person who acts as hokage when Tsunade-sama is out of the village. Ebisu, Hana, and Genma will be taking their teams out on missions, and so cannot be put in charge of the village. Asuma is leaving as soon as a proper messenger service is set up between here and Konoha. Jiraiya is on detached duty, and Anko is... unreliable -- she, too, has a cursed seal like Sasuke, and while she has resisted it for more than a decade, now, she admits that she cannot completely overcome its effects. That leaves you, Sakura, and Ino as people who are in command-grade rank... and all three of you will be splitting duties. Sakura will be teaching in the new academy and setting up a new hospital, Ino will be teaching and acting as our liason with the civilian administration of Wave, and you will be teaching and being my attendant," Kakashi explained.

Naruto blinked. "Teaching? I'll be teaching?"

"Part-time," Kakashi emphasized. "Most jounin team leaders have taught at least part-time at the Academy as chuunin. The Fourth did, as well, before the Rock War."

"I thought Sakura's mother was going to be the teacher," Naruto mused.

"She is," Kakashi replied. "She's the only full-time Academy instructor we'll have, too. The rest of you will be part-timers working with specific things -- you will be hand to hand combat and sparring, Sakura will be chakra molding and control, and Ino will be kunoichi specialty training, especially dealing with ikebana, tea ceremony, and the like. Try not to turn your students into pranksters, though, would you?"

Naruto grinned slightly. "No promises, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed. "Just don't embarrass any of our civilian contacts, then, would you? It could make for a public relations disaster."

* * *

Sakura was waiting outside of the hotel for Kakashi and Jiraiya as they returned. She could tell they were coming from a couple blocks away -- or rather, she could hear Naruto, as his complaints that someone "Nearly pulled my arm out of my socket! What was he trying to do -- cripple me?" could be heard for quite some distance. As soon as they got within sight, she stepped out from the protective overhang of the door and waved over to them.

"Kakashi-sensei! Naruto-kun! Over here!"

Eager to be out of the rain, both darted over to her as fast as they could. "Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, smiling as he usually did whenever he greeted her. "Why are you here?"

"We could only get one hotel room per team," Sakura explained. "Ino's already up in the room, taking a shower. I'm out here because they only gave us one key." She held up a brass key, showing it off.

"Er... one room?" Naruto said hesitantly. "Four all four of us?"

"Don't get any funny ideas," Sakura warned. "I'm uncomfortable enough with the situation as it is. At least we have two beds and two futons."

Kakashi shrugged. "You're too young for me, and I suspect you'd kill Naruto if he tried something, right? We've camped out, together, many times -- what's the problem?"

"Four walls and a single bathroom shared with four people," Sakura answered dryly. "And the bathroom door doesn't lock properly."

Kakashi winced. "We'll be careful... and between us, I think we can keep Naruto out of trouble."

"Hey!" the blond teenager protested. "I can be careful, too."

"Sure, sure," Kakashi replied dismissively. "Now... I'm sure Ino-san isn't the only one of us who wants a shower, or a bed, so let's get up to the room."

As a group, the trio trudged up the stairs with Sakura in front. She stopped in front of the first door on the second floor and put in the key. Before she opened it, she knocked loudly to warn Ino they were coming in.

"Ino-chan," Sakura called. "They're here."

"I'm still in the bathroom, but the door's closed -- come on in," came the muffled reply. "And bring me my bag -- I forgot my change of clothes."

Sakura sighed, leading the way inside. "Ino and I have picked the beds. You two can pick which futon you want."

"Hey, why do you two get the beds?" Naruto protested.

"Because we're girls," Sakura answered, poking her tongue out at him teasingly. "Besides, we were here first."

"I was too busy having my arm pulled out of its socket by the mayor to try and get here first," Naruto muttered.

"Naruto, the mayor was trying to shake your hand, not pull your arm out of it's socket," Kakashi noted dryly. "He may have been a tad enthusiastic about it, though..."

Sakura tuned them out as she picked up Ino's bag and joined her in the bathroom, being careful to slip in without flashing her friendly rival to her male teammates... as much as she wanted to, just to get back at her for grabbing the shower first. With a long sigh, she held out the bag.

"Here you go."

Ino flipped open the bag and pulled out a modest nightgown and started to change despite Sakura's presence. As she stripped off the hotel robe, Sakura's eyes widened.

"You did get the tattoos, after all, didn't you?" she gasped.

Ino smirked at her devilishly. "Of course. Why wouldn't I have?"

Sakura shook her head. "I thought you were joking -- at least, about getting them there. By the way, we're going to be rooming with two guys -- are you sure you want to wear that?"

Ino had just pulled the simple gown over her head and was tugging it into place. She glanced down, frowning. "Why not? It covers everything. Good point, though -- I suppose I should wear some panties with it, just to be safe."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't like parading around guys in my nightwear, but I suppose you're decent enough."

"Chicken?" Ino smirked. "Afraid Naruto will get naughty ideas seeing you prance around in those pink sweats you sleep in?"

"Yes," Sakura admitted gracefully. "He's hard enough to deal with, already -- I've managed to be his teammate and go on overnight missions with him for years without letting him see me in less then my normal day clothes, and I've finally managed to tame his hormones down enough to be able to deal with him on a regular basis. I have no desire to drive him wild, again."

Ino laughed. "You want a tame fox, huh?"

Sakura cocked her head. She had admitted to her mother that she'd give Naruto a chance with her, hadn't she? So maybe, just maybe, she could admit it to Ino, too, without too many problems. "No, I want a wild fox. But only when I'm ready for him."

The absolutely priceless look of shock on the blond girl's face was more then enough reward... and somehow kept her from adding the "if I'm _ever_ ready for him" she meant to add.

* * *

As the thirty ninja made their way across the town to the bridge, Naruto couldn't help feeling a bit nervous. In Konoha, he had long wanted recognition and respect from his fellow villagers. Here, in this town that had sprung up around the bridge he'd helped defend just under four years before, he had the respect... but it wasn't quite like he expected it to be. Yes, hewas being respected, but in the same sort of way that many of the girls in Konoha 'respected' Sasuke: They all had this picture of an 'ideal' person named 'Naruto,' and so when 'Naruto' appeared, they believed he was that ideal. It was the respect... without the recognition. No-one here _knew _him, they just knew _of_ him -- and in the exact opposite way as they did in Konoha. As he saw crowds of people glancing at him with what appeared to be impossible expectations -- to do what, Naruto didn't know -- he couldn't help but wonder if this was what Sasuke had felt. The pressure, the enormous pressure, to be something he wasn't to people he didn't even know. If it was true, then there was no wonder Sasuke took the escape when he saw it -- although Naruto hoped that he would have been able to avoid the temptation to make that escape by becoming a traitor and joining forces with his villages worst enemy. Or by betraying those who did recognize him, and were his friends because of that and not because of some glorified reputation he might possess.

Sakura, walking by Naruto's right, was having a hard time. She, too, saw the people of Wave Country looking at Naruto in admiration... and she didn't quite know what to make of it. She knew he was a hero to these people -- the fact that they named their all-important bridge after him was proof of that -- so she understood that he would be looked up to. She could also tell something about all the admiring glances was bothering him, but she couldn't tell what -- wasn't this what he'd wanted? However, that puzzlement wasn't the only thing bothering her. She noticed, among the crowd, quite a few girls -- some as young as ten, others who might even be in their twenties -- who were all mooning over Naruto... or worse, trying to flirt with him. He was oblivious to it all, but she certainly wasn't -- Naruto wasn't the brightest person in the world when it comes to just how girls acted, but Sakura knew... because she'd acted the same way to Sasuke for years. Somehow, the way they were treating him made her feel jealous -- for obviously no reason, as she wasn't in love with him (not yet, at least) or anything... and it's not like he'd even look at loose girls like that, anyway! -- and it also somehow made her feel... guilty.

Ino knew just what was wrong with Naruto, and was arguing in her head with the Shadow Naruto persona about just why he should accept the praise and be happy about it. She intended to speak with the real Naruto about it, as well, as soon as they were able to talk in at least some limited bit of privacy -- it certainly wasn't the sort of discussion to have out in public, where they would be overheard. However, she was starting to realize, as well, how completely different things were with Naruto and Sasuke, and why that made them so similar. Naruto was tormented because no-one knew he was really a good person, one of the best of the best, and he was under a great deal of pressure to prove them all wrong; Sasuke had been tormented because everyone expected him to be a good person, the best of the best, and he was under a great deal of pressure to prove them all right. Niether one, however, had been allowed anyone who understood who, exactly, they really were... at least, not until fairly recently. She found herself analyzing her own behavior with Sasuke, and felt ashamed... for she, too, had been guilty of expecting too much out of him. And so had Sakura, and Lee, and Gaara, and Kakashi, and just about everyone... but Naruto, who didn't treat Sasuke as some great genius but instead as an equal. The equal of the 'dead last.'

As Ino was the only person with the ability to read minds in the immediate area, no-one knew of the inner conflicts the three were experiencing. They passed through the town with no conflicts, and soon arrived at the bridge. Naruto hadn't even noticed the bridge dedication -- nor the fact that half of the businesses in the area were named after him. If they weren't marching in a ceremonial formation, and therefore forbidden from talking to one another save in an emergency -- Sakura would have loved to have pointed it out to him. She also would have loved to point out the Naruto Ramen restaurant, the Uzumaki Oden-ya, and even the Uzumaki Naruto Memorial Brothel (which required all of its employees to be blond-haired women) although, with that last one, she would have been rather disappointed if he'd taken much interest in it on his own.

"Kakashi-dono!" came a familiar voice's call half-way across the bridge. "Welcome to Wave Country... again."

"Tazuna-dono," Kakashi said back, bowing formally. "I have always enjoyed this country when I have visited, even if it hasn't always been on the best of terms. Now, as it appears I and my fellow Konoha nin present will be living here, I hope to help Wave country continue to blossom."

The vaguely familiar man to Tazuna's left laughed. "Well said, Kakashi-dono."

"Let me introduce my companions," Tazuna answered Kakashi back formally, sounding a bit stiff as he obviously was saying a well-rehearsed speech. "To my left is Kaji-dono. You may remember him as the boatman who helped you during your first mission to our beloved land. He is now our Minister of Naval Affairs -- he deals with both civilian and military maritime issues. If ever you need to get somewhere by boat, he is the man you will be dealing with."

"Kaji-dono," Kakashi greeted, giving a short bow to the man.

"And this other man is Giichi-dono. Giichi is my Attendent and Chief Advisor. If I am ever unavailable, he will be the man you are to meet for any required civilian co-ordination with your operations."

"Giichi-dono," Kakashi said, bowing once again, this time to a man that team seven remembered as a simple construction worker the last time they had met him.

"Come, let us guide you to Blossom," Tazuna declared, obviously still speaking prepared words, as stilted as he said it. Then, as they started walking to follow him, he sighed. Speaking in a much quieter -- and less formal -- tone, he continued, "I'm afraid we're not done yet."

"Oh?" Kakashi said, letting no emotional reaction show in his voice. If Sakura and Naruto didn't know better, they would say he was completely disinterested... but as they were now quite familiar with how Kakashi worked, they knew he was simply trying to hide whatever it was he felt.

"The administrative genin your hokage left here have done a fine job," Tazuna began. "But despite our much improved economy, we lack the ability to acquire resources as quickly as we needed them. We vetted civilian developers to assist in the village construction, and so there is already a small civilian population available to draw a work force from and to make business deals with. However, so far residential construction is way behind. We managed to complete the Academy building, which your genin advised will double as the Administrative building until funds permit making a seperate facility. We also have finished the Hospital, although we haven't been able to perform background checks fast enough to provide you with the needed civilian staff members, and we haven't established a proper supply line for medical equipment -- we have some supplies on site, but replacements will be slow to come by until we've found a trustworthy merchant to deal with. Your initial plans called for the establishment of no fewer then six training zones on the outskirts of the village, but so far we have only identified good locations for four of them. We apologize for the delay."

"All understandable," Kakashi sighed. "So, we're low on housing. How low?"

"Unless you want to kick out the civilians already in place -- which would not be a good idea, given that they're the ones who will be building the rest of your village for you -- we've got nothing ready for you," Tazuna admitted. "Your administrative genin said that it wasn't as much a priority as the hospital or the academy, at this time, because the academy building was designed with a small number of dormitories for the non-commuting students to live in. I suspected you would ask this question, so I brought a copy of the blueprints so that you could see what the facilities are like."

Kakashi took the proffered diagram in his hands and studied it for a few seconds. "Hmm... looks like the teams will have to share rooms with each other for a while, still, after all."

* * *

Notes: Finally, proof that I'm not really a Sasuke-hater. I just have a very... odd view of him, perhaps -- as Naruto has been known to say, he and Sasuke are just like each other. Both without parents, both victims of expectations, and both under a great deal of stress because of those expectations. Sasuke cracked under that stress, however, and Naruto rose (or at least is rising) above it -- that doesn't mean I think of Sasuke as irredemably evil, just that Naruto is the stronger person. Sasuke will continue to act this way -- as a villain -- until something finally makes the stress of expectations worth it for him... yet as for what that something is (at least in this fanfic), well, you've just got to wait and see. Now, next chapter, our heroes start exploring their new town and get their new jobs explained to them. Until then, ja ne! 


	17. V3 Chapter 7

Volume 3

Notes: I made a very minor correction to the last chapter that those of you who read it early after I posted might want to be aware of -- I switched Dan from Shizune's brother to her uncle, to correct it to canon. Thanks go to JohnnyG for pointing it out (and not doing it in an obnoxious way). Not much else to say, this chapter -- although I note that reviews AND hits per twenty-four hour period are down considerably. Did I do something wrong?

* * *

Chapter 7

Sakura was _not_ having a good start to her day.

She and the rest of the expedition from Konoha had been in Blossom for just about two weeks, and things were going about as smoothly as could be expected. Everyone was taking turns helping out at the construction sites, hoping to get their housing built before too long. By this point, even Ino was starting to get frustrated with the living arrangements -- one night in a hotel room with her teammates was one thing, but two weeks? That was a whole other story.

Sakura, so far, had avoided construction duty -- she was much too busy setting up the hospital. It was a bit of a shock, to her, when Kakashi casually told everyone thier assignments over dinner, that first evening. Naruto had grinned at her and given her an encouraging 'thumbs up' when her role as the head of the hospital was revealed. The hospital was one of the most essential facilities to a ninja village, and whoever directed it was typically the third or fourth most politically powerful person in any ninja village -- following only the leader (either Kage or Jounin-Oyabun -- in this case, Kakashi), the leader's second in command (in this case, much to everyone'e surprise, Naruto), and the head of the academy (who, in Blossom, was her own mother). Hospitals were that essential to a ninja's life.

So, she had set about with a fury trying to get things going. She had taken over the background check process to bring in more civilian staff, she had recruited her own father -- the travelling merchant -- to go out and work with Wave's civilian government on establishing proper supply lines for her much needed supplies, and she had already taken aside the two nurses who had travelled with them as administrative genin and started teaching them enough medical ninjitsu to make the hospital fully functional. Things had, however, reached the point where work on the hospital -- could continue without her. So, for the first time, she was being asked to join in on the construction efforts.

Also, for the first time, someone had walked in on her in the bathroom.

It wasn't Ino. It wouldn't have been a problem if it were her -- after all, there was nothing to be embarrassed about with the other girl. While it didn't happen very often, they'd occasionally catch each other in the buff back at their condo in Konoha, usually because they walked in when they were changing clothes or something similar. It had been a long time since the last -- which was why Sakura hadn't known about Ino's little 'cosmetic' additions until their hotel room stay -- but it wouldn't be the first time. And, since certain parts of Sakura's anatomy had recently begun a small growth spurt, she was hoping that the next time they caught each other she'd find Ino a little jealous. Although Ino still had more then her, she was catching up... and fast.

It wasn't Kakashi. While that would have been embarrassing, she could have dealt with it. Kakashi, she knew, was a pervert -- after all, who other than a pervert reads things like 'Icha Icha Paradise' out in public? He was a relatively harmless pervert, however. If Ayame, over at the Ichiraku in Konoha, was any indication, Kakashi could have had any girl he wanted just by pulling down his mask. He hadn't tried it once in all the years Sakura had known him, so it seemed he would keep his perversion to himself. Besides, she was too young for him, so he'd probably just say "Excuse me," leave, and that would be the last either of them would ever care.

It wasn't Jiraiya trying to sneak a peak, like he had tried to do with Inuzuka Hana a few days before (Thankfully for Hana, her dogs were alert enough to find and chase him our before he could see anything). While that would have been horrible, she would have been okay after she was done murdering the sannin. Sure, she would have killed Naruto's master, but she was pretty sure the blond boy would forgive her when he found out why -- he might even have agreed to help her kill him.

It wasn't even Naruto. While that would have been... a bit hard to deal with, what with her current uncertainty about him, she would have gotten over it. Eventually. She'd probably have had to spend the next few months -- maybe even years -- 'taming' him again (as she'd put it to Ino just a few days before), but she was sure they would, in time, be able to deal with each other again.

In fact, it wasn't anyone she knew. It was a boy, about nine or ten, who didn't even know where he was. They were having an orientation day for the new academy students, as in a week (whether the residential facilities had been built or not) she and everyone else from Konoha would be kicked out of the dorms to make way for the incoming Academy class. This particular student had gotten seperated from the group, and was just looking around for his group. He'd been checking a number of rooms, and apparently she had forgotten to lock the door when she'd gone in to take a shower that morning. She'd just stepped out of the shower and was reaching for a towel when she heard the click of the door opening. With lightning fast reflexes, she'd grabbed the nearest handy projectile -- in this case, a bar of soap -- and threw it at the intruder. If he'd been just three inches taller, at the force she'd thrown that soap, he would have been killed. Instead, however, it had just made things worse. When he first stepped into the room, her back was to the boy... but, in order to make her attack, she had to turn and face him... which meant her entire front was exposed to view.

The look of pure shock and amazement on the student's face was all she needed to see to realize what she had done. Chakra flaring, she screamed at him to leave and close the door behind him... which probably wasn't the best way of handling the situation. It attracted the attention of everyone in each of the nearby rooms, and she just barely had time to cover herself with a towel before a dozen ninjas -- all on the lookout for a fight -- stormed into the little bathroom. The same dozen ninjas she would have to work with that day on the housing constuction... including Ino, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Naruto.

He hadn't said anything as she started yelling at everyone to get out, although his eyes were unnaturally wide and she thought she saw evidence of a bloody nose starting to drip before he left. She really feared having to deal with his over-aggressive advances, again... he'd been pretty good about it since getting back from his training trip, but that was no proof that he would remain that way now that he's gotten to see that little bit of eye candy. She knew that he'd already tried things like getting a kiss out of her by transforming into Sasuke -- now that he'd seen, well, not quite all she had to offer (thank heavens her fast reflexes allowed her to get that towel in front of her before anyone but that boy had arrived), but at least more of a hint at what she had than any she'd ever revealed to him, before. And, of course, there was Jiraiya -- who probably had now grasped that she might have something worth peeping at, too, so she'd have to be even more careful bathing in the future. And there was Kakashi, who was probably going to act as if nothing had happened... which would annoy her to no end. And there was Ino, who would be laughing at her about it for the next several weeks... making it pretty hard to deal with her on a regular basis for a while.

So it was with some trepidation (okay, a _lot _of trepidation) that she approached the building she was supposed to be working on that day... with Ino, and Kakashi, and Jiraiya, and Naruto.

"G-good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called, stuttering on his usual morning greeting.

"What's so good about it?" Sakura groused.

Naruto hesitated. "The weather?" he suggested cautiously. The glare she gave him caused him to take a couple steps back from her. "Er... you're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"Only if you ever mention how 'good' this morning is, again," Sakura warned. "Where is everybody else, anyway?"

"Already at work," Naruto explained. "We're broken into two man teams, at the moment."

"And I've got you as my partner? Lovely," Sakura sighed dryly. "Try not to screw this up like you did most of our D-rank missions, okay?"

Naruto looked hurt, but continued explaining nonetheless. "The heavy construction is in, they just need us to install things... countertops, kitchen equipment, shower stalls, sinks, that kind of thing. Also, painting the walls, installing either new carpetting or new wood floors, that kind of thing."

Sakura sighed. "Have you ever done any of that before?"

"Yes," came the surprising answer. "I had to replace everything, once, when my apartment was vandalized about five years ago. No one would help me because of... well, you know."

Suddenly, Sakura's morning didn't quite seem so bad in comparison. "Uh, right."

"I never did the shower stall thing, though, nor the countertops. I've repainted, but never put in a new floor. I've put in a new oven, a new bathroom sink, simple shelving, a bed, and a few other things, before," Naruto elaborated.

Sakura nodded. Well, surprisingly, it seemed he would be a great help on this one. "Well, then, let's get to work."

"We have some choices," Naruto explained, leading her to apartment number six. The housing facilities for the Konoha nin would be entirely composed of apartments -- unless they decided to settle down in Blossom and have a permanent residence built. While that would limit their decorative freedom, it would also be a great boon in other ways -- namely, the housing was free... once they were done building it. "This apartment has two bedrooms, a small living area, a bathroom, and a full kitchen. There's a refrigerator already hooked up, and an oven we'll have to install ourselves, but once those two things are done we can decorate it as we like. The countertops can be in simulated marble, formica, or even butcher's block. We can put in carpet, or hardwood floors, or both. We can have any color we want mixed..."

As Naruto continued explaining the assignment -- reading from a prepared list of instructions, she finally noticed, and not trying to repeat it all from memory -- Sakura looked around the rooms they had been assigned to do. Obviously, this was more than one day's worth of work to finish, but assuming these two-man teams were permanent -- at least, insofar as completing these rooms were concerned -- she could easily see her own touch of design really bringing this place together.

* * *

"Sakura-chan," a weary-sounding Naruto sighed. "I went with you on the butcher's block, even though it was the hardest thing to install, because you're right -- it looks pretty good. I agreed to put in the hardwood floors because, again, you were right -- it looks better. You are _not _going to convince me, however, that neon pink walls are the best color for this apartment to be painted. It's not that I think having an apartment match your hair color looks bad... er, well, it is, but I could understand it. But this isn't your own home, this is someone's apartment. Maybe yours, yes, but maybe mine, and maybe even Kakashi's. Do you really think Kakashi would like pink walls?"

Sakura laughed. "Well, I guess that's not something just anyone would like," she agreed. "What would you like?"

"If we made them white, we could be done with just one coat," Naruto suggested.

"No -- white is a terrible color. It reminds me of hospitals," Sakura shuddered. "I've worked in too many hospitals to want to live in one."

"Well, then, if it's going to take more than one coat, we'll have to come back tomorrow to finish," Naruto sighed.

"I thought this would take a week," Sakura answered. "You're actually pretty good at this kind of thing."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not very good at gardening, or dog walking, or even picking up trash. But this is something I had to learn how to do even before I had graduated from the academy, and I seem to have a bit of a knack for it."

"Heh," Sakura chuckled. "A natural when it comes to remodelling houses, eh? What else do you have a knack for, anyway?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, I might be good at it now, but I had to work too hard at being a ninja to say I'm a natural. I can cook a little, but mostly all I can do well is get the most out of a thing of ramen -- that might be a talent of mine! Um... let's see... I'm not too great at drawing, or writing, or speaking... um, I dunno. Ero-sennin seems to think I'm pretty good at gambling, but I don't really think so."

"Good at gambling, huh?" Sakura smirked, amused. "I want to see just how good at gambling you are. Tsunade-shishou may be known as the 'Legendary Sucker,' but it's not because she doesn't know how to play. I've learned a lot about a number of games from her. Are you interested?"

Naruto frowned. "What would we be betting on?" he asked uncertainly.

"How about..." Sakura considered. "If I win, we get to paint the room pink?"

"Hey! I thought you agreed that wouldn't be a good idea!" Naruto exclaimed.

"No, we agreed that pink isn't a color just anyone would like," Sakura pointed out. "I would, however, so I want to paint it pink. So, anyway, if I win, I get to paint it pink... but what do you want if you win?"

"I want to paint it white," Naruto huffed.

"I won't let you paint it white," Sakura growled, getting frustrated. "I'll let you paint it any other color but white... if I lose. But what do you want if you win?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Um... how about a date?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. Well, he hadn't been all over her like she'd feared he would after that morning. Maybe she could let him have another date without it being too much of a hassle. Besides... she was pretty confident she'd win -- this was Naruto, after all, and she was going to suggest a game of poker. He couldn't possibly beat her at poker, could he? After all, it's not like he would have ever had an opportunity to develop a poker face. "Are you paying?"

Naruto hesitated, then pulled out his little frog-shaped wallet. "Um," he said after a counting his money. "I guess I can afford it."

Sakura grinned. She grabbed a box of nails, and split them in half. "Okay, here's how this is going to work. We play poker, betting our nails. You can't bet or raise more than five nails at a time, and the first one to lose all of their nails loses the game... got it?"

_This is going to be so easy, _she thought.

_

* * *

Okay, so maybe he doesn't have a poker face, Sakura wondered. __But I guess that isn't everything, is it? He isn't cheating, is he?_ Sakura wondered. 

It wasn't like Naruto even needed to bluff. He _always _got a good hand -- or at least, a better hand then Sakura had. He never folded, occasionally muttering "I won't ever quit. That's my way of the ninja" to himself on bad hands, but he didn't need to. Even his worst hand, a pair of dueces, beat her, as she had nothing in that round. She'd taken to folding if he ever said anything else, and even that was hurting her -- after all, she lost her ante every time she folded, and Naruto was easily wearing her number of nails down through simple attrition.

"I quit," she finally said, looking at her hand. She had nothing -- absolutely nothing. Even Tsunade had never had a bad streak like this, and now she was getting junk hands which didn't even give her a face card for high card. The more she played him, the worse she was getting.

Naruto collected the nails enthusiastically. "Wow, Sakura-chan. You've only got eight nails left! I--"

"I didn't say I fold," Sakura pointed out. "I said I quit. What paint color do you want and when do you want to go on this date?"

He froze for a second, but then his smile widened into a big grin. He jumped up from the floor, scattering the nails everywhere, and started jumping up and down. "Yahoo! Alright! I won! I get to go on a date with Sakura-chan! I won! I get to go on a date with Sakura-chan!"

He so resembled the little kid she remembered always jumping up and down every time something went right for him that she couldn't keep her disgust with herself at loosing. Still, he wasn't going to escape her wrath that easily -- Sakura didn't like to lose, but if she lost she would _definitely_ punish the person who beat her.

"Naruto," she growled.

"I get to go on... hmm? What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"Pick up those nails you spilled... right now... or else I'll make this 'date' of ours a living hell! Got it?" she snapped.

That brought him back to his now more mature self. "Er... right, Sakura-chan."

"So, let's take these questions one at a time, since you don't seem to be able to deal with them both at once," Sakura snorted condescendingly. She noticed him wince, and decided she'd punished him enough -- in a much more friendly tone, she asked, "What do you want to paint the room?"

"Well," Naruto considered, almost dropping the four or five nails he'd already picked up while he concentrated. "I guess it's too late to do just one coat, anyway, so I suppose I don't even want white any more." He glanced around, looking for inspiration. "How about the same red as your shirt?"

Sakura blinked. She always wore the same color red, so she knew exactly what he meant, and she tried to picture it around the apartment. "That's... actually better then the pink, Naruto-kun. Red it is! And the date?"

"Let's wait until after we've moved into our new apartments, okay?" he suggested.

"Why?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Do you really want Kakashi-sensei to be there when we get back?" Naruto asked. "Reading one of his stupid books?"

The thought of those books made her agree right away -- Kakashi was a pervert, there was no question about that, and Sakura didn't want to know what kind of innuendo he might unleash if he was there at the start and end of one of their dates. "You're right. How does a week from tomorrow sound?"

Naruto nodded. "Okay! Now... let's go get the red paint. I want to get this done tomorrow, at least!"

* * *

"Hey, Forehead Girl!" Ino greeted Sakura when she finally returned to their dorm that night. She had a twinkle in her eye which Sakura knew meant she was up to know good, and the 'forehead girl' crack seemed to indicate she was in a teasing mood. Surprisingly, though, she didn't follow up with any jokes about that morning, but instead said, "Can we go out somewhere and talk?"

Sakura shrugged. "Sure -- I haven't eaten yet, anyway, and Naruto was planning on guzzling down a dozen bowls of ramen. Instead of losing my appetite watching him in one of his 'feeding frenzy' moments -- which, thankfully, he doesn't have every time he eats even if I'm pretty sure he will tonight -- I figured I'd try and find somewhere else to go for dinner."

Ino nodded. "Yeah, I remember being totally disgusted the one time my Naruto psyche decided it was going on one of those 'feeding frenzies' in my body. I don't remember having seen him do it since he got back from his training trip, though..."

"He hasn't," Sakura mused. "At least, not that I've seen. He still eats about ten bowls a day, though, and he hasn't had any at all so far, today. I'm not going to chance it."

"Well, that's fine," Ino replied, smiling happily. "Because I need to talk to you, and I haven't had dinner, either. I think they opened an okonomiyaki stand just yesterday -- do you want to try it?"

With a nod, the pair left. Sakura realized something once they got to the new restaurant. "Hey! This is just a block from the apartment building Naruto and I were working on!"

Ino looked where Sakura was pointing and laughed. "I didn't know that! Well... it might be good to scout out the area, anyway -- it's a good idea to check out the local food."

"I guess you're right," Sakura agreed, taking a seat at an open table. There was only one waitress, and a sign saying 'please seat yourself' was apparently all the greeting the okonomiyaki stand could afford at that point. That, in Sakura's mind, was not a good sign.

The food, however, was pretty good, she decided once she'd taken her first bite. There weren't any good okonomiyaki restaurants in Konoha, but Blossom looked like it would have at least one... once it found enough waitresses to give reasonably good service, that was. Still, it seemed to be working out pretty well.

"So," Sakura asked, nibbling away at another piece of their dinner. "What was it you wanted to talk with me about, Ino-chan?"

"Mm," Ino replied, before realizing her mouth was full and swallowing quickly. "Well, I was looking at our housing guidelines. We can ask for either a one bedroom or a two bedroom apartment, but we can only get the two bedroom apartment for sure if we sign up as two people. The two bedroom apartments have a full kitchen, a living room, and a nice bathroom with a shower. The one bedrooms, though, use communal baths and only come with a kitchenette. I _really_ want a two bedroom apartment. Since you're my roommate back in Konoha, well..."

Sakura smiled. "Sure thing, Ino-chan. I don't particularly want to deal with communal baths, myself."

"I didn't think you would," Ino laughed. She gave Sakura another one of those dangerous twinkly eyes -- the ones that warned of her desire to drive Sakura nuts with teasing -- before continuing. "I was a little worried you'd say no for another reason, though..."

"What reason was that?" Sakura asked cautiously.

"Well, I wondered if maybe you'd want to partner up with one of the genin," Ino explained. "After this morning, I wondered if maybe you liked flashing little kids."

Sakura groaned. _And so it begins... again._

* * *

Notes: Another chapter in the books. Not much important happened here, I suppose, but a number of important things were set up. Coming next chapter, Naruto and Sakura's next date. Possibly some other things will happen, too, because I'm not sure that will take long enough to merit its own chapter, but I'm guessing that the date -- and it's repercussions -- just might be long enough. If it isn't, the next chapter might be delayed some -- possibly as long as a week. I've been summoned for Jury Duty on Monday, and I'm told that means if I'm selected I'll be stuck on the jury for (an average of) one week. Given how busy my real life has been (and I think the fact that I've been staying up until 3a.m. every night for the past couple weeks getting chapters out ALREADY should say something about that), I don't think I'll wind up with much writing time on a daily basis. If I have to start into the post-date storylines I'll have to make the chapter almost double length... and so I won't be able to finish the chapter before I have to start jury duty. Urgh. Until next time, whether that's tomorrow or a week from now, ja ne! 


	18. V3 Chapter 8

Volume 3

Notes: I will say again, it wasn't really the number of reviews that bothered me last chapter, it was the number of hits. That dropped almost 20 percent from the previous chapter, which would explain where the drop in reviews came from. Since it's hits which tells an author (roughly) how many people are reading his fic, this was a bit startling. Obviously, something in V3 Chapter 6 made me lose a significant reader base, and I don't know what it was. Okay, one to other things: Someone commented on how he didn't feel as if the NaruSakuness was going anywhere, yet. I have a response to that, but it would spoil parts of this chapter, so those are in the closing notes. I will simply point out that good relationships usually take time to develop, and sometimes that development hits a slow point.

* * *

Chapter 8 

By the time that Ino and Sakura were assigned their apartment together, the pink-haired girl was really getting tired of her blond girl friend. She had been teased -- constantly -- about the incident involving the academy student, and it showed no signs of slowing down. What was worse, Sakura had no ready comebacks to respond with, and would flub the few times she tried to shoot back. It wasn't quite so much that the two girls were back to the days of their rivalry over Sasuke, but Ino appeared to think that Sakura needed to be shown who was the 'boss.'

It wasn't exactly a new phenomenon. The first time she and Ino had moved in together, Ino was still too wounded from her experiences to instigate any fights, and with Sasuke gone Sakura had no desire to launch any of her own. It took months before Sakura tried to 'tease' the old Ino out from her, and it had been a friendly teasing since then. However, there were times when one or the other of them would go too far... and so one of them would have to leave for a little while, just to get away from it all, and when the other would come back (usually after spending a week or so in the Haruno household) they would be friends again. Sakura had reached the point at which she normally would have left -- had long passed it, actually -- but there was nowhere for her to go. Housing was at a premium, already, so it wasn't permitted for her to find a replacement at that late date. She couldn't go to her parents -- they didn't have a spare bed (they did have a two bedroom apartment, but only one bed... the second room was being used as an office). The only thing she could think to do was to try and switch apartments with someone who maybe could stand to live with Ino... and who Ino could stand to live with. As annoyed as she was with her friend at the moment, she didn't want to strand the girl with someone who would drive her even crazier then she was driving Sakura.

The first person she approached was Kakashi. He wasn't exactly very enthused by the idea. "I would, but... the last time I lived with a girl she burned all of my books. I'm not going to risk that again. Sorry."

The next person she approached was Asuma -- of the older males, he seemed the most normal. He wasn't a pervert, like Jiraiya (nor like, according to Naruto, Ebisu the 'closet pervert'), and she didn't know much about Genma. Asuma, however, couldn't have helped her even if he wanted to. "I'm the only person who hasn't gotten an apartment, yet," he pointed out. "I'm staying in the dorms until I can get back to Kuren... uh, I mean, until I can get back to Konoha."

_If Asuma-san thinks he's keeping his affair with Kurenai a secret, he's got another thing coming, _Sakura mused at the time.

She decided, in the end, that the adult males were all either perverts, or unable to help. The genin males would be... a bit too interested in her teammate for her to even consider, given they were just starting puberty and Ino wasn't exactly bad-looking. The female genin were too glad to be on their own to give it up. That left the remaining women of the group -- Hana, Yuugao, and Anko.

Yuugao... wasn't exactly friendly. "Um, look," she'd said. "I... can't. No. Sorry." The ANBU didn't explain anything, she just walked away, ignoring Sakura's questions. A simple no, and that was it.

Anko's answer wasn't very friendly, either, but her explanation made some amount of sense. "No. I'm not allowed. It seems the hokage doesn't trust me -- not that I blame her -- and has forbidden me from living with anyone else. There's too much danger that I'll be 'controlled' into murdering my roommate. I'm stuck in a one bedroom by myself for as long as I remain in Blossom."

Of all the people Sakura approached, Hana tried to be the most helpful.

"Well, um, I guess it would be alright with me," the Inuzuka woman answered when Sakura had posed the question to her. "But... are you sure she'd be willing to go along with it? I've got three large dogs, and most people don't like the odors which come from having that many dogs in that confined a space."

Sakura had tried to convince Ino to accept Hana and her dogs, but in the end she was refused. Ino was obviously having too much fun taunting and teasing her to even consider it, and Sakura wondered if she'd have let her switch with someone even if there's been a candidate who didn't have three dogs. It was getting... frustrating.

For that reason, if no other, she was rather ticked off when she started getting ready for her date with Naruto, just one day after having moved into the new apartment. She wasn't having an easy time of it deciding what to wear -- her custom-made kyuubi dress was back at home (and would probably need to be lengthened when she got back -- the one time she talked about the dress to her mother, she explained that she'd designed it for her daughter to 'grow with,' and any time a size adjustment was needed to bring it back to her), and she didn't think it would have been a good idea to wear it two dates in a row, anyway -- and its purpose was best served in Konoha. No, she needed something else... but when she'd packed for this 'year-long' mission, she hadn't thought to bring anything to go on a date with.

Sakura was still trying to decide, wearing a pair of panties and not much else, when Ino walked in the door looking at her. Smirking, the blond girl said, "Are you planning to flash Naruto tonight, or do you just do that for little boys now?"

"Niether," Sakura growled, gritting her teeth. "I just don't seem to have anything to wear tonight."

"I'm sure Naruto won't mind if you show up at the door as you are, now," Ino suggested.

"He might not, but I would," Sakura snorted. "Unless you've got another dress for me to wear this time, Ino-pig, get out of here."

Ino, taking the hint, retreated to her own room and left Sakura to deal with her problems herself. Deciding that there wasn't much else she could do, she merely picked the parts of her standard outfit (which wasn't necessarily a bad thing to wear on a casual date -- she'd picked it out because it kept her looking good while still usually being flexible and durable enough for missions) that had survived the journey to Blossom in the best shape (and it was hard to find parts of her outfit in good shape, considering that the month-long journey had left most everyone's clothes and gear in fairly poor shape, with mud, mold, wear, and tear) and wear that.

Naruto, much to her added frustration, showed up in a decent suit -- somehow, he'd either managed to preserve some dress clothes all the way from Konoha to Blossom or he'd managed to obtain some in the week since they agreed to this date. She suspected the later, which frustrated her even more -- he'd just shown he put more thought into this date then she had. Considering she had always felt her greatest asset was her mind, being out-thought really annoyed her.

Apparently, her frustration showed on her face, as he had gone from the smile of absolute glee which only Naruto seemed to be able to manage convincingly to a rather terrified look of apology the moment she was done glancing up and down his suit. "Er... did I do something wrong?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," Sakura answered through clenched teeth -- after all, she couldn't exactly complain about him actually trying to treat her right, could she? Well, not if she was even pretending to be fair, at least.

She had anticipated being taken to either a ramen place or that okonomiyaki stand Ino had found a week before, but Naruto had a different idea in mind. Somehow, he found what many people in Konoha had felt was the crown of culinary achievement as far as restaurant food went -- a fancy sukiyaki restaurant. Considering the village hadn't existed as of a year before, and the first civilian establishments in town were permitted only about three months before Sakura and the other Konoha nin arrived, it was rather astonishing to find such a high class place in the middle of Blossom.

"Just how in the world did you find a sukiyaki place this fast?" she asked.

He looked at her, a little surprised. "I asked some of the civilian workers, why?"

The thought Naruto had put into this was making her feel even worse, considering she'd been so distracted by Ino over the week that she hadn't even remembered it until an hour before she had to get ready. She was both frustrated that he was being so much better of a date then she'd ever believed he could be -- even after their first date -- while she had been so careless about it that she'd not even considered trying to find something she might wear when she had a whole week to look for a dress -- or at least to make sure that she had at least one set of clothes didn't have holes in it or needed to be ironed. Combined with all of the stress Ino had been putting her under, she felt like breaking down and crying.

"Sakura-chan, is something wrong?" Naruto asked softly, seeing her distress.

"Yes," she sighed. "But it's not your fault, and there isn't anything you can do about it. Let's just eat and enjoy ourselves for now -- maybe what I need most is to get my mind off of things."

Naruto looked dubious, but he delved into his food, anyway. He had better table manners then she'd _ever_ seen him use, before, and he kept a close watch on her throughout the entire meal. Afterwards, he suggested they take a walk, for a bit, and she agreed.

There weren't very many 'beautified' spots in Blossom, yet, although there was the occasional lot where flower gardens and fish ponds were being established or turf was being laid down, so the walk wasn't very scenic. However, Naruto somehow managed to find a route which lead them to a little, out of the way area which seemed to be a pleasant clearing outside of the village. It took Sakura a moment to realize that this was one of the training grounds that had been set up, but because it was there were nice places to either hide or sit down to listen to a lecture. Sitting down, apparently, was on Naruto's mind, as he lead her over to a place where five stumps perfect for sitting were 'conveniently' arranged in a small circle. He took one, and gestured to her to use another. Finally, he sighed.

"Sakura-chan, if you didn't want to be on this date, you could have just told me," Naruto finally said. "I would have understood."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "No! This date is fine -- it's the best thing that's happened to me all week, in fact. You've done such a good job with it, I just feel so guilty that I didn't put more effort into preparing for this... I didn't even think about it until a few hours ago, and--"

"Sakura-chan, it's all right!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm perfectly happy with my Sakura-chan, whether her clothes have holes in them or not!"

Sakura flushed. So, he had seen the ripped seam in the back of her blouse, after all. She thought she'd done a good job of hiding that with some safety pins, but apparently not good enough. "It's not just that," she admitted finally. "It's... well, Ino-chan and I agreed to share our apartment, just like we did back in Konoha. Only... back in Konoha, I had my parents place to go to when things between us got too out of hand -- we've been rivals too long to remain civil for very long, and sometimes the teasing we do with each other gets out of hand. Well, Ino-chan's been pushing my buttons all week -- since that... uh, incident, in the bathroom, at least. I'm having a lot of trouble dealing with it, and I'm starting to realize that -- without an outlet to go to, like at home, I can't stand living with her. All week, I've been trying to find someone to trade apartments with me -- Kakashi, Asuma, Anko, Yuugao, Hana, I've asked them all, and they're all unable to do it for one reason or another. I'm at my wits end, because I was told that I can't get another apartment, now that I've taken this one. I'm just... I just want somewhere to stay for a while. I suppose I can take it -- Ino-chan and I have lived with each other for a couple years, now, and we've managed to cope with a lot of things together -- but I have to adjust to not having my outlet, any more."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well, why didn't you ask me?"

"You mean, you're willing to trade apartments with me?" she asked carefully after a long moment of silence. She hadn't even thought to ask him. Would he be willing to live with Ino, just to help her? To Sakura, that seemed like a huge sacrifice on his part.

"Well, I suppose we could," he agreed. "But I was thinking more of you coming to live with me."

Sakura's face darkened. So he was a pervert, after all. "Naruto, if you think two little dates is enough to make me want to... to... well, I..."

She was so upset, she couldn't even get a complete sentence out. She started to stand up and march towards him, fists clenched. He jumped back, surprised, and started waving his arms furiously to try and calm her down. "I didn't mean it like that! I _really _didn't mean it like that! Please, Sakura-chan, don't kill me -- I wasn't trying to say anything like that!"

Normally, she would have pounded him despite his pleadings -- all perverts deserved to be punished, especially if they were being perverted towards _her._ However... she recalled how he had acted after he'd run into her bathroom and caught her in little more than a small towel barely held up to her chest. He'd definitely been interested, yes, and he'd definitely enjoyed the sight of her nearly nude form... but he'd also been polite about it, and respectful of her ever since. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions, here, but maybe not.

"You've got three seconds to explain before I show you just what Tsunade-sama taught me to use against perverts," she snarled.

Naruto swallowed nervously. "Um... it's just... well, I got the apartment we worked on together -- you know, Apartment 6? So I've got an extra bedroom, and I'm not using it at all, and... well, I thought... maybe..."

Sakura blinked. "How did you get a two bedroom? I thought you could only get a two bedroom apartment if you had a roommate!"

"I didn't ask for one," Naruto sighed. "I didn't think anyone but you or Ino would be willing to take one with me, and I knew you two were going to pick each other. I wanted the bathroom, but I didn't particularly care about anything else, so I just didn't say anything when they asked me. Apparently, they ran out of one bedroom apartments, and I was the only one who hadn't given them a preference. Between dog girl, the closet pervert, Kakashi-sensei, Genma-sensei, the purple haired ANBU chick, Ero-sennin, Anko-sensei, and all the genin girls they didn't have enough one-bedrooms built when we had to move into the new apartments. So... they gave me Apartment 6. I didn't know what to do with the second bedroom, so it's still completely empty... but if you'd prefer, I'll let you have it and I'll take yours. It won't make any difference to me."

Sakura shook her head. "That... won't be needed, Naruto-kun," she replied softly. "Thank you. I'm... not entirely comfortable with the idea of living with a boy full-time, but... maybe I could sleep over at your place every now and then. It could be that place to go to get away from Ino-chan, like I had in my parents house back home, and... and I would enjoy your company, from time to time." She paused. "But you'd have to agree to stock your cupboards with more than ramen, got it?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, smiling nervously. "If you say so, Sakura-chan," he answered, looking a little abashed.

Finally, for the first time that night, she smiled. "Good. And thank you, Naruto-kun... I think that we'll both be happy with this."

* * *

Notes: Shortest chapter yet, I think (final word count isn't determined until after I do my edits,' since the difference in whether scene breaks are counted matters sometimes), but at least I got this one out before having to go on jury duty tomorrow. I'll try to keep writing, but I don't know if I'll have enough time to do a full chapter like usual... or even to write anything at all. Anyway, related to what I said above, regarding Naruto and Sakura's relationship not moving: When one of the earlier reviewers of the last chapter said, because I mentioned 'repercussions,' that "Apparently, something bad is going to happen on the date," I almost went ROFL. Obviously, I already knew what was coming, and that Sakura and Naruto would start 'living together' off and on following the date, so that comment really struck my funny bone. Especially since I was trying to figure out how to keep things from going TOO good on the date -- they aren't ready to be a full-fledged couple yet (as Sakura still has to get over her Sasuke fixation -- which she hasn't done, yet, and won't for several months still, fic-time), yet I wanted them to be living together part-time before they did... because there's a certain event (not taking place for several chapters) which requires them to be living together without being fully 'involved.' I was considering just having Sakura decide to live with him in order to 'give him that fair shot she'd promised her mother she'd give him,' but I decided that was a bit of a stretch for her reasoning, and went with this instead. Again, though, they aren't able to be a fully fledged couple just yet. Since it's no secret that this is a NaruSaku fic, I suppose it wouldn't hurt too much to say that they WILL be a full-fledged couple well before Volume 4, and likely somewhere in the middle of this volume (as a point of reference of fic-time, I intend to have them a full-fledged couple by Sakura's eighteenth birthday. Volume 4 starts, fic-time, after her twenty first birthday. She is sixteen right now). There is going to be at least one major storyline development AFTER they go official and yet before Volume 3. Possibly more, as I haven't firmly decided when certain 'stand-alone chapter' events will take place in this volume. Next Chapter: Ino, Sakura, and Naruto each start their first lessons as teachers. 


	19. V3 Chapter 9

Volume 3

Notes: Someone made an eerily plausible suggestion for why my readership suffered such a sudden drop a few chapters ago, one that's been born out as that part of the reader base seems to be returning already. "Um, wasn't that the night a lot of people were waiting in line at bookstores for the earliest possible release of the new Harry Potter books?" Considering I happen to know at least some of my readers followed me here from my Harry Potter fanfic days (which, by the way, are over -- the HBP killed my interest in writing HP fanfiction -- and please don't review on that subject, I've already repeated myself enough times to others who asked me about it), that just might be true. At least, I hope it is -- I can't think of what I might have done to cause such a dramatic drop in readership for a single chapter. Anyway, enough about that. I'm writing this after having been on jury duty, today (7/18) -- and yes, I was selected for the jury sigh which means I'm losing a few days to my civic duty, and so I'll point out that these notes were all written on Monday. Anything I might decide to respond to after Monday will be in the closing notes (assuming I don't actually finish this chapter today. It's possible, though unlikely -- I wasn't expecting to have as much spare time afterwards to write in as I've gotten), so if you were expecting an answer to a review of yours look there. And now, on with the fic -- enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9 

The first semester in the history of the Konoha Blossoms Ninja Academy was now two weeks in, and for the first time Sakura, Naruto, and Ino would be teaching thier own classes. Sakura's chakra training and control classes were Mondays and Wednesdays, Naruto's would be Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Ino's would be Saturdays (in special classes reserved for the girls). This first year, there weren't very many students -- only about a dozen, where in Konoha they typically had about thirty new recruits enter each semester. Still, a dozen first-year students was pretty intimidating for people who had never taught anything before, so it was with some trepidation that the three started making out their work plans.

All three of them worked on them together -- in Naruto's apartment. Sakura had only needed to stay for a couple days before Ino showed up at the door, a sincere apology on her lips. Sakura accepted, and returned to Ino's... but made sure she had a set of essentials over in her room at Naruto's in case she ever needed to leave again. There had been one weak joke, since, about Sakura maybe wanting an excuse to be chased out again, so that she could go running to her 'boyfriend's' house. Sakura, back to her old self, had stomped that suggestion into the ground... although she hadn't made any corrections with regards to Ino calling Naruto her 'boyfriend.' Naruto, Sakura decided, was perhaps reaching the point where she could be proud to call him her boyfriend... and while the shadow of Sasuke loomed over them, she still felt comfortable enough in thier growing relationship that she would be willing to let him don that title, provided he didn't let it go to his head. So far, however, she hadn't let _him_ know that... and hoped it would stay that way for a long time.

Ino had loved the apartment when she saw it (paying a particular compliment to the wall color) and she had been the one to suggest they meet up in room 6 for their planning session. All three of them were given a list of various points they had to cover in their lessons, and shortly after the meeting started Sakura and Ino were debating various points on the kunoichi training list, trying to determine if they'd actually ever used any of those same lessons, themselves. While their conversation was going on -- and was seriously over his head -- Naruto read the long list of things he needed to teach his students. As he puzzled over it, he started getting more and more frustrated -- just how was he supposed to cover all of it in only two days a week?

"Argh!" he moaned. "This doesn't make any sense!"

Both Sakura and Ino stopped their conversation to look at him in surprise. "Well," Ino began. "I know it might not to you, since you've never had kunoichi training, but ikebana is a very important skill for espionage purposes. It makes it so much easier to hide listening devices, and--"

"No, no -- not that. Well, yes, I don't get that at all, but that wasn't what I was talking about -- why do I have to teach all _this?_ Huh?" He waved his list in front of their faces, and cried, "I mean, I can do it -- at least, I think I can. I know everything they want me to work on, but... I just don't get it! I didn't have to learn this at the academy -- did you?"

Sakura, tired of trying to read the piece of paper as he waved it in front of his face, snatched it from him with a glare. Finally, with the paper held still in her steady hands, she started reading... and her eyes bulged.

"That can't be right. I... hold on." She quickly pulled out her own list, which she had yet to do more than skim through as she was more interested in adding her input to Ino's list, and started glancing down it. "Oh, my god. Ino... look at this! Read mine first, then Naruto's."

Ino, as instructed, started reading Sakura's first.

"We expect you to divide your time in half," the message said. "We suggest you devote one of your days to chakra building exercises -- it is out understanding that the hokage has been teaching you a wide range of such practice techniques, and we would like for you to instruct your students in all of them. Advise them that they must begin improving their chakra immediately, as they will be using it in all other lessons. The second day, we expect you to train them in chakra molding and control. Before the end of the semester, we would like you to have them attempt tree climbing exercises."

That wasn't too unusual, although Ino had to admit that it was asking a bit more out of the students then was asked of them before they became genin. She, certainly, hadn't had to attempt any tree climbing exercises until just before she was recommended for her first chuunin exam. Also, she hadn't been asked to learn any chakra building exercises until after she became a chuunin -- she had enough chakra for the techniques she knew as a genin, and that was all she needed. It wasn't until she read Naruto's list -- written in more direct terms -- that the significance came to her.

"Supervise and assist in sparring one day each week. Every non-sparring day, teach the following techniques:

"Shuriken training (including wielding kunai as a dagger)

"Fuuma Shuriken

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu

"Kawamari no Jutsu

"Henge no Jutsu

"Bushin no Jutsu"

Those were no surprise -- after all, every student at the Academy learned them. Even Rock Lee had managed to duplicate the results, if not the actual techniques, for his academy test (although using so much speed as to create two after-images of himself to approximate a cloning technique left him unable to move -- much less train -- for days). It was the continuing list that was the shock.

"Mizu Bushin no Jutsu

"Doton -- Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu

"Kontserun Henge no Jutsu

"One other ninjitsu for each student."

Ino's eyes ran down the list, uncertain just what it meant. "Naruto, you know water clones and the earth element decapitation technique?"

"And combination transformations?" Sakura asked, uncertainly. "And why would you even bother with water clones, anyway?"

"Yes," Naruto sighed. "I know all those techniques. I never saw the point of learning the Mizu Bushin, but Jiraiya insisted that I should probably train with them since I was training under cover. Several nations teach their students the mizu bushin -- few teach the kage bushin."

"Why?" Ino asked, curious. "They do the same thing, right?"

"Not quite," the answer came -- not, surprisingly, from Naruto. Instead, it was Sakura who answered. "Kage bushin uses more chakra, but the shadow clones are able to perform certain things a mizu bushin cannot... and visa versa. Certain varieties of kinjutsu may be performed without harm to the ninja if he has a kage bushin clone perform them, whereas the water clone is tied more tightly to the ninja who performs the technique. There are other differences, as well, but that was the one mentioned on the 'forbidden' sealing scroll... the one you once stole, Naruto-kun. Tsunade-shishou let me look at the scroll at one point -- though not long enough to learn any of the techniques -- and I never understood why until I learned of kyuubi. The Fourth used the techniques on that scroll to seal it up inside you, and the 'kage bushin' was the first lesson because he hoped its use would allow him to survive using that technique."

"It might have," Naruto said after a moment. "Kyuubi just... explained it. He says that the Fourth tried the technique a first time on him with a shadow clone... but the clone's power wasn't strong enough to seal him. He had to use his full strength in order to do it, and so in the end he used that sacrificial sealing technique himself to complete it."

"_Kyuubi_ explained it?" Ino gasped. "Since when are the two of you on speaking terms?"

"Ero-sennin encouraged me to meditate, and talk with the fox," Naruto sighed. "It wasn't very pleasant, at first. However, we finally managed to make a deal which should keep the kyuubi willing to help me when the time comes for battle. Since then, however, he'll occasionally pop out and start talking to me... sometimes about rather silly things." He glanced at Sakura, smiling slightly. "And sometimes not so silly things."

Sakura blinked, wondering just what that look meant. "So, anyway," she finally said, deciding to get them back on topic. "That list... Ino, what do you make of it?"

"They're trying to make genin with chuunin-like abilities," Ino replied. "Or... hm. Actually, just the techniques alone wouldn't make a person a chuunin, when you consider what some genin are capable of..."

"Of course!" Sakura exclaimed. "These people... not a single one of them will have had any family training -- no bloodline limits, no family techniques, not even any stories from their parents to help seperate the myth of what a shinobi is capable of from the fact. If a genin has just his or her basic techniques, it becomes... hard... to keep up with other genin." Sakura winced. "I know what that feels like, not even knowing of my own bloodline traits and getting very little from them for so many years as a student. It took me a long time to figure out what I needed in order to make myself... well, at a reasonable level for a ninja."

Naruto blinked at Sakura. "What are you talking about? You were always a great ninja! I wouldn't have learned what I have half as quickly if it hadn't been for you! Kakashi didn't help me figure out that whole tree-climbing exercise at all -- I needed your help in order to figure it out. You're better with a kunai then I'll ever be, you know, and you were the only one of us who could figure out how to dispel a genjutsu. Yeah, sure, your combat skills weren't as great as Sasuke's or mine, but we didn't need you to be a combat-type ninja. We had that covered, between us -- what we needed was someone to help us figure out what the hell Kakashi was saying, to know how to accomplish all those D-class mission tasks that I never understood, to help us rig up traps, basically someone to help us do what we couldn't."

Sakura smiled at him, feelings of gratitude swelling within her. "Thank you, Naruto-kun... but I know better. Even if I was all those things you say I was, it was never enough to make me _feel_ like I was that good of a ninja. Now, however... well, I feel I don't always have to be the one watching the battle from the back, any more. But I had to get a lot of help to reach this point, so... I wonder if maybe our students are going to be expected to learn more from us, because we're the only ones who can teach them."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Okay... but why am I the one teaching all of this? Isn't your mother supposed to teach them things, as well?"

Both girls looked at him in surprise -- not because of what he said, but because the same thing hadn't occured to either of them. "I... well, she's supposed to," Sakura agreed. "But suddenly I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe we should talk to mom about it, because I really don't know."

Ino sighed. "Do we really need to know, though? Wouldn't they have told us, if it was something important?"

"I need to know," Naruto stated firmly. "Maybe you don't, since all you're doing is teaching flower arranging and tea ceremony and girl junk like that -- nothing important, anyway."

"To a kunoichi who is involved in surveillance operations, it could be a matter of life and death," Sakura noted dryly.

Naruto looked surprised. "Really? Well... I guess we were never on any surveillance missions, before, so I never would have noticed. But anyway, I need to know so that I don't look silly trying to teach them things they already are supposed to know."

"And I'd like to know what my mom's doing here, if she isn't teaching anything," Sakura chimed in. "Although I suspect she is, just not anything to do with combat techniques or chakra development. She could be exclusively teaching non-combat skills -- surveillance techniques, moving silently, hiding from view, that kind of thing."

Naruto scratched his head. "Why not have me teach that stuff? I'm pretty good at all that stuff."

Sakura coughed, looking embarrassed. "Actually, Naruto... except for the hiding thing, you're pretty lousy at it. That was _why_ we were never assigned any surveillance missions."

"But... but no-one ever caught me when I was hiding after pulling a prank, not even ANBU agents!" Naruto argued. "It was my best ninja skill as an academy student!"

"Hiding, maybe," Sakura admitted. "You're pretty good at that. But you were also too easily distracted, and that tended to make you noisier then you should have been for surveillance operations. But that was okay -- we were designed as a combat-style team, and Ino's team was designed for surveillance. Lee and Neji's team were combat style, as well. Kiba and Shino's team were surveillance-oriented... although they were pretty balanced, yes, but they were intended to perform surveillance operations, and did so better then just about anyone in our academy class."

"Hey! We did pretty good," Ino protested.

"You did," Sakura admitted. "But you weren't quite as good as they were, nonetheless. Your team could do the job, but your target typically knew you had been there. Shino's team... would do the same job, but do it without anyone knowing they'd ever been there. Bugs, dog noses, the byakugan -- they were all methods of observing the enemy without letting them know they've been observed. Your technique works pretty good, but... most people notice when they've had their brains gone through. Like I did during the Chuunin exam, you cheater!"

Ino blinked. "I didn't think you knew about that -- you didn't say anything!"

"I knew something wierd had happened," Sakura replied. "But I didn't know what... and I was a bit distracted because my _boyfriend_ over here was too busy sweating bullets because he didn't know the answers and didn't understand that he was supposed to cheat! I realized it had happened, though, when you tried it a second time during our preliminary match-- what?"

Naruto was looking at her with an expression of... disbelief? She hadn't quite ever seen him look like that, before, but she wasn't sure what had come over him. His mouth was wide open as if in shock, and his eyes were tearing up with happy tears as if someone had promised him a lifetime supply of ramen. "Sakura-chan..."

"What?" Sakura snapped, getting impatient.

"You called him your boyfriend," Ino pointed out when it appeared certain that Naruto was incapable of answering. "Which really shouldn't have come as such a shock to him, given how the two dates you guys have been on have gone, but I don't think he ever expected to hear you ever use that word when talking about him." She set down the two lists she had been reading, grabbed her own class paperwork, and stood up. "I think you two need to talk some things through, so I'll leave you guys alone for now. I'm going to be locking you out of the apartment, tonight, Sakura-chan, so you'd better stay here tonight -- I know you've got everything you need here already, including a change of clothes and a toothbrush. I'm not trying to make you do anything you aren't ready for, but I'm not going to let you use the 'It's getting late and I need to go home' excuse to get out of talking this over with him."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But--"

"No buts," Ino snapped. "I know that _we've_ talked about this from time to time, but I don't think the two of you ever have. It's time -- at least let him know where you stand, and where he stands, and what that all means, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, she stood proudly and marched out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.

Sakura stared at the closed door, unable to believe what her friend was doing to her. She wasn't ready for this kind of talk, and Naruto... and Naruto deserved to know, just like Ino said. _God, _she thought. _He needs to know, but how do I even begin to explain this to him? _She turned to look at him, and saw he hadn't moved since she'd called him her boyfriend. He almost seemed to have passed out, but his eyes were open and appeared focused enough to not indicate unconsciousness. _Hmm..._ she mused. _This must be what emotionally induced clinical shock looks like. Tsunade told me about this, but I've never seen it before._

She'd been told a number of remedies for it, but there was only one which offered no risk to either the patient or the medi-nin -- in this case, her. Resolves, she looked him in the face, judged the proper amount of energy required, and began the technique.

"Ow!" Naruto exclaimed, mid-flight from her devastatingly powerful slap. As she had judgde, it was an appropriate amount of force to knock him out of his shock. It was almost enough force to knock him out completely, in fact, but thanks to his incredible durability and stamina, he was able to shrug it off in mere moments. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Sakura smirked, not really feeling very sorry at all. It felt good to vent a little, especially since he was the cause of her problems at the moment. Well, actually, she was just as much the source of her problems as he was, but slapping him around was much more likely to improve her mood then slapping herself around -- if only momentarily, and he really had needed to be slapped out of his stupor. It was a perfectly viable technique for this purpose, and besides -- Naruto could take it, and had taken worse from her before. Maybe there was a little twinge of guilt that she was taking all of her frustrations out on him, but not much -- he was going to be glad of it, before too long, she hoped. And she was going to try and get out of the habit of slapping him around -- really! But this was a special case.

Finally back to his senses, he looked at her a little hesitantly. "Did you really... uh, did I hear you say..."

"Yes, Naruto-kun," she finally sighed, taking pity on him. "I think of you as my boyfriend. Sort of, anyway."

The elation which was dawning on his face fell into confusion. "Huh? What does 'sort of' mean?"

Sakura opened her mouth for a few moments to answer, but found she couldn't. "I... I don't really know, myself," she admitted. "But maybe I could explain in a way that will help us both understand."

"Okay," Naruto said, sitting straight and looking up at her patiently. It occured to Sakura that this was how he looked when he was waiting for a lesson of some sort -- he'd looked just this way when he was listening to her tips for the tree climbing exercise, all those years ago. It reminded her both of how much he had changed and how much he had stayed the same. She smiled slightly.

"I want you to understand something, Naruto," she said gently. "I love Sasuke-kun. You know that, right?"

Naruto looked down. "Yeah," he answered, sounding defeated.

"The thing is..." Sakura began, then stopped. She wasn't quite sure how to explain what she was feeling. "I don't want you to think I'm leading you on, okay? I just want you to remember that -- because that is the problem. See, Naruto -- I think you're a great guy. I love being with you, I've truly enjoyed our dates, and I'm starting to think better of you then I did of Sasuke-kun. But... I love Sasuke-kun. The thing is... I'm not sure if I'm really in love with him, still."

Naruto looked up, confused. "But... what does that mean?"

"I may only be in love with a memory," Sakura admitted. "I can't tell if what I feel for him is real or not, because... he isn't here. He's gone, and he hurt you and me and just about everyone else who cared for him when he left. Until and unless I see him, again, I won't ever know if I really still love him. But... I'm not sure I ever will see him again, or if I do if he'll still be the same Sasuke I was in love with. I need to go on with my life, however... and you're becoming what I need to do so."

That put a happy smile on Naruto's face. If there was one thing which made him happier then anything else in the world, it was having the ability to make his 'Sakura-chan' happy, to help her, to make her feel good. He just wished he were eloquent enough to put into words what that made him feel. Instead, all he could say was, "Oh... wow, Sakura-chan! I... I'm so glad I can help you!" he finally said.

"You aren't 'helping' me, Naruto-kun," Sakura rebuked mildly, shaking her head. "Saying that all you're doing is 'helping' diminishes what you really are doing for me. When I go on a date with you..." She walked over to him, and pulled him into her arms. He looked astonished, but she didn't let that stop her. "When I hold you... when the time comes that I kiss you... I don't want you to think that all I'm doing is using you to 'help' me. I am sincerely trying to make a new life for myself... and I think you may become a major part of it." She released him and pulled back. Naruto's legs buckled and he fell to his knees, staring up at her. "So if I call you my boyfriend... well, it's because you are. We're dating, now, and dating may lead to other things, eventually. But I do still love Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, and that makes things so hard for us." _For more reasons then I can say, _she thought.

Naruto nodded, a smile on his face nevertheless. "I knew it wouldn't be easy. People always think that my dream of becoming hokage is silly, because they think I believe I can do it easily... but they're wrong. I know how hard it'll be to become hokage. It took me twelve years of my life to get just one person to recognize and respect me as I need people to if I were to ever become hokage -- yet I never gave up my dream. I've made friends a lot faster since then, but there still aren't many people who wouldn't celebrate if I died." He said this so matter-of-factly that Sakura flinched, but he took no notice of it. "I know that becoming hokage seems impossible for someone like me... but I will still become it! I will never give up, and I will be hokage." He grinned at her. "Just as I will never give up on you, Sakura-chan. I will always be faithful, and will always love you, no matter who you decide you love or what you do with or to me... so anything you give me in return, I am very grateful to recieve."

Sakura blinked away a couple tears. "Oh, Naruto-kun!" she sighed, jumping into his arms. She paused there, unsure if she really should take the next step -- it would only make things harder on both of them if she had to pull back again. In the end, though, she knew he deserved the reward, whatever the consequences -- she had never heard him speak so eloquently, or so passionately, and it was all directed at her. "Remember what I said about there being a time coming that I kiss you? I think that time is now."

* * *

Notes: Well, I'm still on jury duty (thank god I'm not sequestered, and that the courthouse is close enough I can come home when we're at recess -- there's no air conditioning in the courtroom and we're having a heat wave), but I got this chapter finished before the end of the week. Don't expect anything new until Saturday, at least, but I anticipatemy service to continue until Monday (I'm off for the weekend, of course). I imagine it'll wrap up on Monday, however, so I should be back to my regular posting schedule soon. Now, to the story -- everyone who's been complaining about the NaruSaku romance moving too slowly, here you go. It ain't the BIG moment I have planned for them, but it should be enough of a little moment to tide you over for a while. Don't expect them to be kissing very often, for a while -- their relationship is still very much in its infancy, and of course there will be setbacks and roadblocks along the way. I don't plan to show too many of those setbacks and roadblocks, but expect comic bickering on occasion (I might try to balance out the bickering scenes with the kissing scenes, but I don't actually know if there'd be a point to that many kissing scenes at this stage -- trust me, things get a LOT better between them before the end.). To the person who said 'forget jury duty, just get the next chapter written,' um, sorry -- I'm not going to jail just to finish the next chapter of a fanfic a day or two earlier. By the way... I've always been curious: I know that Naruto failed his Academy test three times because he couldn't perform the Bushin no Jutsu... so just how in hell did Rock Lee pass? I came up with my own method for him to have done it, but I really wonder how he was supposed to have managed it. Was he given some sort of special dispensation or something? A real puzzler, that one. Also, the thing about the sealing technique not killing the user if he's a shadow clone -- that was my personal explanation as to why the kage bushin was part of the sealing scroll in the first place. It isn't canon, though -- I don't think -- so don't assume it is. It's just a possibility... (and one which I think has some evidence to support it, in the Orochimaru-Third Battle. Only the shadow clones had the seal on their chest after they used the technique, don't forget... but that may or may not mean anything. It's just an idea -- if the user doesn't have a soul to begin with (because they're a clone) then there's nothing shikigami can take.). As to why a mizu bushin wouldn't work for it... well, there's no real explanation why not. It's just that I figured they had to have some differences between the two, or they wouldn't be different techniques. By the way... this scene ran MUCH longer then I anticipated, so what I said was coming for this chapter (namely, the first day of teaching for Ino, Sakura, and Naruto) will be bumped to the next. 


	20. V3 Chapter 10

Volume 3

Notes: Okay, a couple things. The 'hokage no jutsu' technique wouldn't work with the kage bushin, as I have it described here, because the kage bushin links chakra. It would work with the sealing kinjutsu, however, because his SOUL (which I view as a different entity) isn't linked to the clone -- does that explain why one would work, and the other wouldn't, sufficiently? In essence, any kinjutsu which damage the soul may be attempted without harm using a kage bushin, but most other kinjutsu would not. About Sakura and her treatment of Naruto... she's trying to distance herself from him because of something which hasn't been revealed, yet. For that reason, she'll leap on any chance to look down on him that she doesn't think will honestly hurt him (i.e., she wouldn't jump at him for the kyubi, because that would crush him, and she wouldn't be able to work with him any more. She will leap to conclusions about his perversity, because he can stand the insult without it crushing him, and it would give her a chance to distance herself without necessarily distancing herself too much -- she'd have an excuse to turn down dates with him and the like, but she wouldn't kick him so far to the curb that he'd be unable to work with and -- possibly -- unable to resume a relationship with at a later time). It isn't that she doesn't like him, or REALLY thinks poorly of him -- she's just grasping at straws as an excuse to keep herself away from him. It's largely because she is trying to remain loyal to Sasuke, as Naruto was loyal to her, and feels guilty because she isn't being as loyal. This all will be resolved within the next ten chapters or so, I believe -- or at least the start of the resolution will. Meantime, sit back -- there will be a number of 'two steps forward, one step back' situations for the next few chapters before things get better for them. As far as 'mysteries of the manga,' regarding Naruto's age: Yes, he graduated at the same age as everyone else. In this fic, though, I figured he managed that because he was entered into the academy early... like Itachi and Kakashi supposedly were (and Sasuke as well, I think, as I believe Sasuke may have lost a year or two due to his family having been slaughtered. I might point out that, for the purposes of this fic, Naruto entered the academy just one year before Sasuke... which means Sasuke left the Academy, and didn't return until Naruto's final year). He was held back, however, because despite his apparent promise (in Taijutsu, in this case... I know a lot of people don't think much of his taijutsu, but I think that's because he's rougher at that then most ninjas. When he's at his toughest, his taijutsu works pretty darned good, he's just slow) he didn't show much sign of improvement in any of his skills... because he wasn't being taught until he got Iruka as a teacher, which was when he met Shikamaru and Chouji (as I have written in this fic) and actually learned most of his early ninjitsu from them. In other words, my idea of how this manga mystery works is already in my fic. Also, Naruto specifically says that all three times he failed the Academy were because he was called to do the bushin no jutsu. The henge no jutsu incident he was seen to have flubbed was NOT a final exam. Therefore, I suspect the bushin no jutsu is required to pass.

* * *

Chapter 10Much to Ino's surprise, she didn't see either Sakura or Naruto before her first class. She was fairly certain nothing... _too_ interesting had happened, yet, but it was certainly amusing to think of all the things she could tease her friend with when she finally returned. It had been two nights, so far, and Ino had only locked Sakura out one of them -- which meant, of course, that thier talk had gone well. You don't spend any more time then you had to at the home of a boy you were fighting with, after all. You certainly didn't sleep overnight at their home -- even platonically -- if you could avoid it. That success had put Ino on an emotional high for quite some time. 

However, she had never had a chance to finish her plans for this class with Sakura, which made her a bit nervous. It wasn't so much that she didn't know what to teach -- she did -- but she wasn't sure how to teach it. However, it was her job, now -- she'd been given babysitting missions, before, so she supposed she could handle this.

"Okay, ladies," she finally said, looking out at the assembled girls. "In this class, we will be teaching you the special skills of a kunoichi -- tea ceremony, flower arranging, and other skills which will help you fit in at a noble court when engaged in covert missions..."

* * *

"You're home!" Ino exclaimed. She had just returned from her class, and was astonished to find that Sakura was busy heating a simple dinner. "After you failed to return yesterday, I figured you and Naruto had just decided to quit that 'part-time' stuff and go on to living together permanently."

Sakura did blush slightly, but she shook her head nonetheless. "No. That won't be happening any time soon, at least, but I'll probably be splitting more and more time between homes. It's not what you think, though -- yesterday was work-related."

Ino blinked in exaggerated confusion. With a inuendo-laced lilt to her voice, she asked, "Work related? How can something like _that_ be work-related?"

"All right," Sakura snorted. "Enough of that. You know as well as I do that nothing of the sort happened."

"More's the pity," Ino sighed dramatically. "It might have improved your sense of humor if it had. Still, why did you stay there last night, anyway?"

"Well, we had our 'talk' the night before -- and it came out pretty good, I think," Sakura admitted. "I won't tell you anything about it, though, because I'm not one to _kiss_ and tell."

"Ooh!" Ino cooed encouragingly, even though she'd been expecting something like that to come up soon.

"But afterwards, we agreed that we should co-ordinate our lesson plans so that they would work together better. Or rather, I told him we should, and he was too dazed to disagree even if he wanted to," Sakura explained. "We spent all of yesterday figuring out what we were going to do, and we didn't finish until it was much too late for me to come here for the night. We then spent most of today going around, arranging for 'guests' to demonstrate certain things we figured needed someone else's expertise for. We also found out that we're going to be splitting our time even further from our 'regular' jobs -- Jiraiya and Anko-san are apparently going to be training the two of us specifically to counter Orochimaru's fighting style. It seems they suspect Sasuke-kun will be using a lot of his techniques when we finally meet him again."

Ino winced. "Well, it figures the three of you would meet in battle, again. You three are the apprentices of the sannin. Still..."

Sakura shrugged. "We're expecting him to come here, sometime soon. That's partly why we're on this particular expedition. I have suspicions as to what a couple of other motives Tsunade had in sending us out here are, but the one we were told was that Sasuke was looking for us and wouldn't come to Konoha to see us. We're being prepared for the fight... which I'm fairly sure you knew was coming."

Ino sighed. "Yes... although I thought it would be you looking for him, when the both of you were ready. When does your training start?"

"One week from today," Sakura sighed, pulling the tonkatsu out of the oil and setting it to rest on a sheet of paper. "While you're teaching. How did that go, by the way?"

Sensing an attempt to change the subject, Ino decided to drop that line of questioning. "Oh," she said, trying to think back over her day. "I suppose it went pretty good. They all seem ahead of where I remember being my first day of kunoichi training, anyway. Might be because they've all had time to learn 'women's skills' when you and I were learning basic taijutsu in school."

Sakura smirked wryly. "Which, of course, means they'll be way behind for what Naruto and I have to teach them. Well, we were expecting that... and we'll be ready."

* * *

It was Sakura's turn to take the reigns of the academy students. She had intended to meet with her mother, beforehand, to discuss the progress these potential ninja were making, and whether any of them had displayed any special talent for anything. Unfortunately, her mother wasn't home the one chance she'd had to stop by, so she wasn't as prepared as she would have liked. Still, this class was mostly just an introductory class, so she'd have enough time to meet her before the real lessons began.

She looked over the class she was supposed to be teaching, standing on the stage area of an open amphitheatre on the Academy building's grounds. She recognized Inari, of course -- it wasn't a surprise that he was here, especially as she'd already known of his application to the academy before she even knew about the existence of Blossom. She was surprised to recognize one of the others, as well -- the boy begging for food in the marketplace. She got to know him after Gatou's fall, while still serving guard duty for the bridge's final construction. Adaha, she vaguely his name was, only really resembled the boy she remembered in his face -- he'd filled out in the four years since. He was shorter then a boy his age should have been, probably because of an extended period of malnourishment before the bridge had been built, but he'd put on a lot of muscle and looked fairly healthy. His eyes, however, retained much of their youthful innocence, proving that he was the boy she knew.

There was no way she would play favorites, however. "Hello, class," she began. "My name is Sakura, and I'll be your instructor for chakra training. I'm sure we'll all learn each other's names in time, but I'll save that for an exercise later in this class. Now, has mo-- I mean, has Haruno-san given you any instuction as to what chakra is, yet?" At numerous blank stares, she sighed. "Okay, does anyone here have any idea what chakra is?" A number of hands went up, including Inari's and Adaha's. Sakura nodded to herself, glad to see about half of the class had at least heard about one of the basics of ninjitsu. "Good. For those of you who didn't raise your hands, chakra is the basic 'power source' of most ninja techniques, especially those of ninjitsu and genjutsu. Chakra is very useful, and with proper control can do a remarkable number of things. As an example... I want you all to write down your names on one of these sheets of paper and stick it into this bag I'm going to pass around."

She handed a leather pouch to Inari, smiling at him slightly. "Yes, ma'am," he said.

The stack of special papers she handed to Adaha, which he took without comment. Passing out the little scrolls, he glanced at his own sheet with surprise. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced up at her in surprise. Sakura wasn't quite sure what to make of his scrutiny, but she had her suspicions... which, if right, would mean that he might actually have some unexpected talent in this field. However, it might not.

Once the pouch was returned to her, Sakura set it aside for a moment. "Okay, did anyone here see anything on the paper before you signed it?" Adaha and one other student in the back raised their hands. "Good. You -- what did you see?"

The boy who's name she didn't yet know hesitated. "Well... for a split second, I thought I saw writing, but I wasn't sure."

"There definitely was writing," Adaha broke in without being called on. "I also noticed the whole paper was glowing slightly."

That took Sakura aback. Even she wouldn't have been able to see the glow of chakra on those pages in the daylight. It would have taken someone with a doujutsu, like byakugan or sharingan, to see it... which meant Adaha likely had a bloodline ability. Which, in turn, meant that at one point, part of his family line included ninjas. She would have to speak to someone about that, privately, later... but for now, she had to teach the entire class.

"Well, that's very good. Because, you see, there was writing on all the papers. Most of you couldn't see it... because I was using a simple genjustsu to hide the writing. Genjutsu, like ninjutsu, requires that you mold chakra -- which, for those of you who are not yet aware, is essentially the mixture of spiritual and mental energy in a person. Just having chakra, and being able to draw it out, is not enough to perform genjutsu or ninjutsu. In Konoha, there is a ninja named Rock Lee. He has massive stores of chakra, which he can draw out to enhance his taijutsu, his hand-to-hand combat. However, he is also the only ninja to be completely unable to perform any ninjitsu or genjutsu whatsoever. He has no talent for it. I've never heard of anyone who has no talent for it, before, but he doesn't. It took me a whily to figure out why: While he has large amounts of chakra, and can even access that chakra, he cannot control nor manipulate that chakra with any degree of accuracy. If he tried a specific ninjitsu, using the correct procedure, a thousand times... he might get it to work once. If he was lucky. It is abnormal, to lack that ability, so I suspect all of you will be able to learn ninjitsu and taijutsu... if you ever build up enough chakra. It will be my job to teach you how to use that chakra."

A girl slowly raised her hand. "Sakura-sensei," she quietly stuttered. Sakura was strongly reminded of Hinata by the girl.

"Yes?"

"What was written on the papers?"

"Ah," Sakura replied, glad to have had someone ask the question. "Why don't I demonstrate." She pulled a random sheet out of the leather bag and glanced at it for a moment. "Which one of you is Hiniku Butakatsu?"

A portly boy with a pig-like nose raised his hand and waved carelessly. "That's me," he answered a bit too casually for Sakura's taste.

Sakura grinned. She tossed the sheet on the ground, licked her forefinger, and swiped the little bit of spittle from that lick across the name. Suddenly, with a puff of smoke, Butakatsu disappeared from his seat in the amphitheatre and reappeared on the stage where the sheet of parchment had been moments before.

"These parchments were minor summoning scrolls," Sakura explained. "Summoning is one of the techniques just about every ninja village has practitioners of. There are different types of summoning, including the variety I just demonstrated -- one-time use scroll summonings. Most summons of this type require a trigger -- I've seen some which can be activated by breaking the wax seal of a scroll. This particular scroll was activated by the application of my saliva. Most of the more powerful summons require more powerful triggers, and sometimes sacrifices. The most common of the major summons involves making a sacrifice of your own blood and the application of a certain ninjitsu technique. Now, in order to learn the names of the rest of you, I will be summoning you all one at a time... which will give most of you your first experience dealing with chakra... and your first experience with the summoning technique."

Butakatsu yawned. "Um, can I go back to my seat, now?"

Sakura clenched her fists in annoyance, but nodded. "Okay, now, let's get started." She pulled the remaining papers out of the bag, and sorted them briefly so as to next summon Inari and Adaha. Getting them out of the way, she moved on to the next person who she didn't already know the name of.

"Okanemoto Akane," she summoned. A rather nondescript boy in a hat appeared, but he seemed to have a dark frown in his face. Sakura noticed that Inari seemed to flinch as the boy's name was called, and suspected there was history between them.

"Ran Umiko." This was a rather attractive girl -- for an eleven year old -- who wore a pair of wristbands with a horse motif on them. She had a long ponytail with horse-themed jewelry in many wild colors braided into it. Inari had a reaction to her, as well, but it was a rather different one -- Sakura recognized it as the same look Naruto had given her when they were both eleven. Obviously, there was a bit of a crush going on, here.

"Seiteki Pansuke." This, another girl, wasn't exactly what Sakura would expect to find from a twelve year old ninja cadet. From a distance, it looked like she was wearing normal clothing, if a bit tight in some areas. Up close, however, the red top was revealed to be a see-through mesh, revealing that the girl was pierced in places Sakura could only wince at. The short pants she was wearing had holes revealing much of her rear cheeks, which had a racy tattoo for decoration. _Somebody,_ Sakura mused, _is just asking for the sort of duties a kunoichi doesn't get until after courtesan training._

"Hiyowai Shiro" turned out to be a rather sickly looking boy with a very pale face. He wasn't really fit to be a ninja, Sakura could tell instantly, but she figured she had to give him a chance. He'd been accepted to the academy for some reason, that was for sure.

"Komakai Chikan." The name was completely unfamiliar, but the face reminded her of something. Sakura couldn't place it, however.

"Munamoto Sousou" was the hesitant young girl who acted so much like Hinata. She was sent blushing when, upon being summoned, a button popped on her shirt exposing some cleavage. _She's already got more there then I do,_ Sakura moaned to herself.

_Yeah, but I bet you we know how to use what we've got better,_ Inner Sakura answered.

By this point, much of the class was either waiting their turn or talking amongst themselves. Sakura noticed that Komakai Chikan kept pointing at her while he discussed something quite excitedly with another classmate -- Okanemoto Akane, if Sakura wasn't mistaken. Sakura decided she wanted to know what he was saying, and so secretly bit her thumb when she went to lick it for the next person. She called forth Kainashi Rouhi, being careful not to get blood on the scroll (as that might had unintended consequences), and proceeded to secretly perform a kuchiyose no jutsu as well. The slug she summoned was tiny, but useful nonetheless -- its size made it the ideal spy for her.

Using the same skill set that was required for a replacement technique, Sakura managed to place the slug in their immediate vicinity without them being any the wiser. Then, she started a second technique -- one she'd learned not from Tsunade, but from Tsunade's best slug -- Katsuya. With a silent motion, she was able to use the senses of any slug as her own, be they one she summoned or even just a random slug in the woods. It didn't take much stamina -- which was fortunate, as even so light a summoning as she'd done with the slug was a great strain on her chakra what with all the other things she'd had to do that day such as preparing the parchments and hiding the writing with a genjutsu she'd had to learn that very day (from Kakashi, in this case -- although Sakura knew that the ANBU, Yuugao, was supposed to train her in genjutsu at some point). She would have to really conserve chakra until she'd had a chance to rest and recover her drained reserves.

She tuned in to her slugs hearing, determined to find out what her students were talking about.

"I'm telling you the truth," Chikan was insisting. "I know that she's Sakura, one of the four great Heroes of the Bridge. So what? That doesn't have anything to do with what she looks like naked. I know that she doesn't seem to have anything with what her shirt is showing. The thing is, she has to be binding them -- I saw her in the shower, and I can tell you that she's got pretty decent sized tits on her. True, she's not as big as that wierd woman they were calling 'hokage' during that visit a year ago, but--"

Sakura had heard enough, and immediately shut down her connection to the slug. It was then she realized just why Chikan seemed so familiar -- he was the boy she'd almost killed for accidentally coming into her shower just a few weeks ago. It seems he was taking his survival for granted, and was expecting her to just let him discuss her as if she were a piece of meet. Well, that boy was about to find out the hard way that you should never talk about a kunoichi of her experience like that. Not a kunoichi like her, anyway.

"Chikan-san?" she called upon finishing the roll call of summons with three or four other unremarkable teenagers. Chikan looked up at her. "Can I please remind you that I am a kunoichi of four years experience, trained personally by the hokage of Konoha, and a master of many skills?"

"Uh..." he replied, clearly confused.

"Which means," she grinned dangerously. "I can, if I want to, hear every word you're saying without you realizing it?"

"I told you so," Akane muttered just loud enough to be overheard.

"Okay, now that roll call is over, I think I'll dismiss you early," Sakura said, closing up her leather pack. In truth, she'd wanted to accomplish more that day, but she didn't have enough chakra to do everything she wanted at that time -- she'd known that the moment she finished preparing the attendence sheets that morning. Still, she should give some excuse. "Today was supposed to be mostly a meet and greet session, anyway. You'll need your energy for tomorrow, when you are having your first class in sparring and combat tactics with Naruto-kun." Here, she shot a significant look at Chikan. "My boyfriend."

The horror-struck look gracing the boy's face was priceless, and apparently most of the rest of the class thought so as well. Sakura left to the swell of only partially surpressed laughter.

* * *

Naruto was surprised that night when Sakura burst in through his door. They hadn't agreed to meet until that weekend, although she was always welcome in his home (he'd given her a spare key). Seeing her this early was a sure sign that something was wrong. The fact that she was hyperventilating only added to this assumption.

"Did you have another fight with Ino?" Naruto asked, before either of them even said hello.

Sakura shrugged off the lack of courtesy -- this was Naruto, after all, and whatever else he might be he wasn't the most civilized person she'd ever met. Besides, she was too frustrated with other things. "No, I'll be going home later I think. This is about class today."

Naruto winced. "Are they that bad?"

"No, not really," Sakura admitted, letting her anger slip only a half of a notch. "A couple of them even show a bit of promise -- I think one of them even has a mild bloodline ability, likely a doujutsu."

"We'll need to get someone to help us with that one," Naruto mused. "I don't know anything about doujutsu. Kakashi does, but I know he's too busy to work on that."

"I'm don't care about that!" Sakura huffed. "I'm talking about that boy!"

Naruto blinked. Normally, Sakura made a lot of sense, even if he didn't always understand what she was saying, but this was downright bizarre. "Boy?"

"You know!" she growled. "The boy! The one from a few weeks ago! The boy who saw me naked!"

"Saw you... naked?" Naruto asked, now both confused and jealous.

"Oh, come on, Naruto -- even _you_ aren't that dense!" Sakura growled. "Remember? The bathroom incident?"

"Uh, yeah," he answered, remembering that particular image _very_ clearly. "But I thought you had a towel on."

"Not when _he_ walked into the bathroom, I didn't," she replied, her eyes daring him to make a comment. "That was bad enough, but now... now he's already going around class, _talking_ about it! He's... he's being perverted, and you know how I feel about that!"

"Well, being a boy, I'd probably have done the same thing at his age," Naruto pointed out, only to recieve a fairly nasty glare in return. "But I shouldn't have done so. If I did. Which I didn't, because I've never seen you naked."

Sakura grinned at that -- he was kind of cute when he was flustered, wasn't he? _Well, he can be, anyway. Now, let's get this plan started, _Inner Sakura chirped gleefully.

"Naruto-kun, you were quite the trickster in Konoha, right?"

* * *

Notes: My first named created characters for this fic -- huzzah! The students names, save for Adaha, Akane (given name only -- made up the family name) and Inari (which come from the manga andor databooks... I only really use the databooks for names, mind), are all puns -- or at least are all supposed to be puns. My Japanese isn't good enough to even attempt a pun without a japanese-english dictionary, and as anyone familiar with learning a language can tell you, dictionaries aren't always very reliable for that, as sometimes a word in a foriegn language dictionary will only mean what you think it means in very obscure usages. Nonetheless, in the spirit of how all the characters are named in the series, I tried, even if I know I'll probably get some of them wrong -- see if you can guess each name's pun, if you want, although I make no guarantees that my puns actually work, and in at least one case I didn't find a good name for the 'right' word, so I used a not-as-good word. sigh Anyway, next chapter: Next chapter: Naruto's class, and Sakura gets her revenge. (again, I didn't get quite as far as I expected to, this chapter -- I intended to get through the start of Naruto's class, at least, but I think it breaks better here) 


	21. V3 Chapter 11

Volume 3

Notes: Nothing I really need to -- or rather, nothing that I CAN reply to in the comments, this time. I guess I should just say 'enjoy.'

* * *

Chapter 11 

Naruto had gone about his morning training session (three hours of practice with his various techniques -- not really enough to improve, but enough to maintain his current level at least) in a bit of a daze. Who knew Sakura could play the prankster as well as him? Even kyuubi was impressed with her deviousness, which said a lot considering the monster kitsune's reputation as the worlds most powerful trickster. And her suggestions... well, they were things he might have thought about doing, true, but he'd never have let Sakura know he was planning them. He'd be too afraid of her just wrath in response.

Kakashi had even noticed that something wierd was going on with him during the several hour period they were performing their 'regular' duties. Upon being questioned, Naruto explained in a rather watered-down way just what Sakura had asked of him. Kakashi hadn't reacted in front of him, but Naruto could have sworn he heard laughter coming from behind the closed doorway leading to the Jounin-Oyabun's office. In a way, the fact his former sensei and current village leader wasn't trying to disuade him helped Naruto feel a little less uncertain about the plan. By the time he ready to teach his class, he'd made a number of slight alterations which would make things work just that much better. After all, when it came to pranks, he was a bit of a genius. Besides, the way he'd changed it, the prank would fit in his lesson plans better.

He watched the students arrive, trying to determine who was who from the descriptions Sakura had given him. Hiniku Butakatsu was easily spotted for his piggish looks, as were Ran Umiko (the pony-tailed girl), Seiteki Pansuke (the girl trying for early entry into the courtesan program), and Hiyowai Shiro (who looked _way_ too pale to be considered healthy). Inari he knew already, and he had to check his eyes when he saw how rather busty Munamoto Sousou looked at her age, but he couldn't tell any of the others apart. The remaining students Sakura said to be especially watchful for -- Chikan, Adaha, and Akane -- were indistinguishible from the others with Sakura's basic descriptions. He'd tried especially hard to remember those people's names thanks to Sakura -- if there was one thing he would never be good at, it was remembering people's names -- but it looked like it wouldn't matter after all. He sighed -- it looked like he would have to take roll.

"Alright, people, listen up," Naruto said, almost shouting as he loudly began his class. He immediately performed a kage bushin, transforming into sixteen ninja. There were some awed expressions and some expectant ones as he demonstrated this rather ordinary (for him) skill, but he didn't have time to amuse the crowd like he would have liked to. Any other day, and he would have loved to flaunt his skills -- one thing his growing maturity hadn't cured him of was his love of showing off -- but if he really wanted to get this prank done right, he would have to get to work. "I'm going to call your names. When you hear your name called, raise your hand. One of my shadow clones will come over to you."

In point of fact, it was a shadow clone who was speaking. As the clone read the roll, the real Naruto stood ready. Upon hearing Chikan's name, he watched intently for the raised hand and made his way over to it as fast as he could. This, after all, was an important part of the trick.

"All right," the clone leading the class said. "Now, at this point, I'm going to be giving you all a bit of an evaluation exercise. Each shadow clone will spar with you -- your goal is to do everything in your power to hit my clone. If you manage to get a good hit in, my clone will disappear. Don't worry if you don't, though -- this is just to see where you are all at."

That was what Sakura coached him into saying, anyway. In truth, he wasn't expecting anyone to beat him legitimately -- even if he was going to restrict what each of his clones could do to basic taijutsu, he should be light-years ahead of them all. Inari might have a chance -- as far as Naruto knew, he was the only one who'd even seen a ninja in action, much less had any sort of training. Adaha too, he supposed, since Sakura was under the impression that the boy might come from the family of a former ninja, but he wasn't so sure that the skills of a parent one had never met would really help a ninja be a good ninja... which was a large part of the reason he'd never spent the time to look for anyone from his clan. Not having been raised by the Uzumaki clan, he had a hard time feeling connected to it... if it even existed. He'd certainly never met another Uzumaki before.

Chikan looked mildly nervous standing before him, but otherwise seemed fairly confident. Naruto grinned. This was going to be fun.

"Okay, everyone... begin!"

None of them were as unskilled as Naruto had suspected -- they might not have been as good as he was in taijutsu when he was entered into the Academy at eight years old (three to five years younger then any of these cadets), but they were all determined. It made it much easier for him to give them victories. Inari was the first one to score a successful strike -- surprisingly without much being held back from Naruto's clone. Okanemoto Akane was second, and Butakatsu was third. Sakura's favorite pupil, Adaha, was having more difficulty then most in his fight, but Naruto could tell there was some power in his punches which might allow him to be trained up into a decent ninja... with a lot of work.

Naruto wasn't holding back with Chikan -- at least, not defensively. He wasn't trying to hurt the boy -- much -- but he wasn't letting him get a punch in, either. In fact, Naruto suspected he was about as good as Akane or Butakatsu showed themselves to be, but he didn't need to let anyone else know of his real evaluation of the students talent. However, he was so good at his sparring that Naruto started having second thoughts about this plan -- it wouldn't do to crush the spirit of one of the few halfway-decent fighters in the class. However, in the end, he resolved merely to make it up to the boy afterwards -- Sakura, after all, was the most important thing in all of this.

Outside of Chikan, the last person to beat their clone was Ran Umiko, who's obsession with horses didn't seem to make her as strong or as fast as one. Naruto had to help her out considerably just to allow her the win, actually stepping into the swing of her punch. That punch wouldn't have been enough to do any damage in a real fight, but Naruto had been watching for something which would allow him to clear that clone away. That just left Chikan as a fighter, and so Naruto started putting the boy through his paces. He could see the fear growing in the boy's eyes, as he started to believe that Naruto was really trying to kill him -- Sakura's threats were obviously still on his mind. Well, Naruto intended to use that.

The rest of the class, upon finishing with thier own clones, had gradually filled their ranks around the last battle still taking place. Naruto maneuvered his target so that Chikan's back was literally against a wall, then intentionally missed with a chakra-enhanced punch. While he didn't know the tricks that Tsunade and now Sakura did to increase their strength so tremendously, he could still pull off a significant enhancement which should impress the cadets. The fist through the concrete wall just an inch from Chikan's face certainly made an impression on him.

To the boy's credit, he didn't panic. He also didn't take advantage of the opening Naruto had purposely given him. With his fist stuck in the wall, Naruto could easily be hit by a counterattack of some sort, but none was coming. Instead, Chikan darted back, raising his guard against further attack. Naruto remained 'stuck' as long as he thought could be believable before finally pulling free and turning on him.

"Why aren't you even trying to fight me?" Naruto asked, growling. "You should have attacked me! I haven't even had to try to block a punch you've through -- do something!"

Chikan took a deep breath, throwing a wild punch. Naruto saw it coming from a mile away, and stepped into it intentionally.

Naruto was mildly surprised at the force of the blow, but he managed to act as if it didn't hurt (as planned). Instead, he forced himself to look down at the fist, still in contact with his stomache, and blinked. He was a ninja, after all, and therefore capable of acting surprised when he wanted to. "Um, was that a punch?"

"Er, yeah?" Chikan answered uncertainly.

"Then why am I still here?" Naruto asked. "Try hitting me again -- use all your strength, this time."

Chikan did as was told, yet the blond ninja managed to appear unfazed. The blow was strong, but not so strong that Naruto couldn't pretend it didn't hurt. "Er... well, that was a hit, too," the boy pointed out.

"Ah, I see," Naruto said, rubbing his nose and nodding as if he'd had a stunning revelation. "You just aren't strong enough to make me disappear. Ah, well -- I guess I'd better go, anyway."

With a puff of smoke, Naruto simultaneously kawarimi no jutsu'd and dispelled his last clone, so that it would appear as if he had always been the one teaching the class and the clone was the one who had been fighting Chikan. It wouldn't have fooled a skilled ninja, but none of these students met that qualification. In fact, only two or three of these students met the basic qualifications for joining the ninja academy in Konoha -- it appeared those standards were lowered for Blossom. At least, they were if the starting level of taijutsu these students displayed was any indication.

Still, this was just an evaluation day, so he shouldn't be too hard on them.

"Well, that was fun," He said, smiling out at everyone. "I'm going to have to figure out what I need to teach you all first, so class is dismissed. Komakai Chikan-san, I'll need to see you right away."

Everyone started filing out of the ring, many shooting sympathetic glances Chikan's way. Once the two of them were alone, Naruto approached the student.

"Yo," he said, smirking.

"Okay, which reason did you ask me to stay for?" Chikan sighed.

Naruto smiled. "Which one do you think?"

"Well, I'm apparently the weakest person here, so you might be kicking me out, already," Chikan noted.

"No-one is ever kicked out of the ninja academy," Naruto explained. "Once you're in, you stay in until you've graduated or died. Too many secrets."

Chikan's eyes widened. "So... if I showed no aptitude to be a ninja, then..."

A kunai appeared in Naruto's hand. "Then you die. One way or another." Putting the shuriken to the young cadet's neck, he said, "So, tell me, Chikan-san... what do you think of your performance today?"

"Um... am I going to die?"

"Maybe," Naruto answered.

Chikan closed his eyes. "Make it quick... please?"

Naruto looked the boy up and down, and sighed. Pulling the dagger back, he frowned at the boy. "Hmm... Sakura-chan thought you'd piss your pants on that one."

"Huh?" Chikan replied, opening his eyes in shock.

"Sorry about all that. You actually did better then most of the cadets we had, I was just tricking you into thinking you were the weakest... and, for the record, we don't kill you if you fail," Naruto explained. "If that were the case, I'd have been dead more than once. You _are_ stuck in Blossom for the rest of your life, unless you pass -- something you're usually told when you've given your last chance to leave, by the first midterm -- but Konoha ninjas don't kill people for something like that." He shrugged. "I think the Mist do, though, so you're probably lucky we recruited you and not someone else."

"Uh, right," Chikan agreed. "Um..."

"Like I said, sorry about scaring you," Naruto continued. "But Sakura-chan was rather pissed off at you. You _are_ the boy who got to see her naked, right?"

The strain in his voice made Chikan pause. If he lied, he was pretty sure he was dead... but he was pretty sure he was dead if he told the truth, too. Well, better an honest dead man then a dishonest one. "Er... yeah. It was an accident, though, honest!"

Naruto shrugged it off. "Of course it was. If I thought it was at all possible you intended to peek at Sakura-chan, then, well..." He shrugged. "I don't think we would be having this conversation, now, would we?"

"Uh, right."

"Anyway," Naruto continued. "Now that my duty as her boyfriend is over, and we've had our little revenge, I'd like to ask you something."

"What?" the boy asked, curious.

"Heh heh," Naruto chuckled mischievously, bending over to talk in his ear privately. "I was wondering... how well do you remember what she looks like naked?"

Chikan blinked. "Uh... I remember pretty darned well. It's the first time I've ever seen a girl naked!"

"I've never had a chance to see her naked, yet," Naruto sighed. "I'm not sure I ever will -- we're going to be getting into a major battle, soon, and I'm afraid I'll lose her whatever its outcome. I'd like to have the image of her -- of _all _of her -- before that happens. I don't think she'll show me, though... but you could."

"Er, how? I'm a terrible artist, and I didn't take a picture or anything, so--"

"No, I don't want you to draw her," Naruto explained. "I want you to _become _her."

"Huh?"

"Let me show you a certain ninja technique," Naruto explained, his hands forming a certain very familiar pattern of seals. "Sexy no jutsu!"

As the naked (save for a few strategically placed clouds of smoke) girl appeared where his sensei had been standing, Chikan got a nose bleed and very nearly fainted. "W-who..."

"I'm Naruto," the transformed ninja explained. "This is a varient of the henge technique, which is the first ninjitsu I'll be teaching the class. Some actually classify it as a genjutsu, as well, but this particular varient couldn't be considered such." He transformed back to Naruto with a puff of smoke. "See, the henge doesn't quite transform _everything. _What makes you a human being remains with the henge... but the sexy no jutsu was a test for a kinjutsu I was developing. It actually transforms me into a girl, all the way down to my biology and everything. It isn't the only henge varient I know, however..."

"What else do you know?" Chikan asked, intrigued. Naruto had only moments ago been threatening to kill him, but now... was he going to teach him a new technique? And what did this have to do with his desire to see that Sakura girl naked, anyway?

"I know a 'combination transformation' technique," Naruto explained. "I perform the technique, and I supply the chakra, but you pull the image out of your head. So... are you willing to let me pull a combination transformation techique with you?"

Chikan smirked. "And what do I get out of this?"

"The right to keep breathing tomorrow," Naruto pointed out cheerfully. He wouldn't really kill the boy over something like this, but he wasn't above making a few 'friendly' empty threats in a situation like this one.

"Er... right. Well, I suppose I can do it for that," the boy agreed.

"Good," Naruto said, moving around the boy and placing a hand on the back of the boy's neck, making as much contact with skin as he felt comfortable with. "Now, picture her in your head... got the image?"

"Yeah," Chikan replied, a slight nose bleed developing on top of the recently-cleared up one from Naruto's sexy-no-jutsu. "I remember it quite clearly."

Unseen to Chikan, a slight grimace appeared on Naruto's face. Nevertheless, he made the appropriate seals. "Well... okay, then. Kontserun Henge no Bushin." With a puff, it appeared as if Naruto was touching the back of Sakura's neck... her clothed neck. Naruto stood back and frowned. "Hey, I thought I told you to picture her naked!" he started, then blinked. "Oh, wait... hmm. Something didn't work right, there."

Chikan looked down at himself. Yes, he had the same pair of... um, feminine globes he recalled having seen before... but a shirt -- his own ordinary shirt -- was covering them. "Weren't you able to change my clothes, too?" he asked.

"I think it's because I had to do it with just my chakra, since you aren't able to access yours yet," Naruto explained, studying the Sakura-shaped student for a moment. "I just wasn't able to push it out to your clothing is all. The transformation of your own body, however, worked fine." He grinned lecherously. "Which means everything else is okay, so... strip for me, will you? I only wanted you to do this so that I could see Sakura-chan naked, after all!"

Chikan looked about to protest, but decided to comply when he saw his teacher's finger start inching towards a shuriken pouch. "Er, right... um, can I go somewhere for privacy? I mean, I don't mind showing off this body -- it's not mine, after all, it's just like sharing a picture with another guy -- but, um, I don't want to change in public. That... feels wierd."

Naruto pointed to a screen -- one which Chikan hadn't seen before. "Go behind that. You can get dressed there, too, when you're done."

Chikan darted behind the shouji screen, tossing off his clothes as fast as he could to avoid thinking about it all. Just like he said, it was like sharing a picture of a naked girl with his school friends... so why did this make him so nervous?

"Are you done?" Naruto's impatient voice came from over the shouji.

Chikan checked himself. Yep, even naked, he looked exactly as he remembered the girl to look. "Uh, yeah, I'm ready."

"Well come on out, then!" Naruto huffed.

Still a little hesitent, but unsure why, Chikan left the privacy afforded to him to present the image of a naked Sakura to the blond teen's eyes. "Well?" he said, finally, deciding to move into a bit of a pose.

Naruto's eyes widened. He'd often pictured Sakura naked -- after all, what guy didn't picture the girl of his dreams in the nude from time to time? He'd had little reference to go on, however. Her clothes weren't exactly the most revealing, and he'd long believed she bound her breasts when in her usual combat uniform -- something he was increasingly suspicious of, as she seemed to have a larger bust on both of their dates (although he was half-convinced it was just his imagination running wild on him) -- so he'd never had a real good picture of what she looked like. He did know something of the female form in general, having had to research a couple dirty magazines to create the sexy no jutsu... not to mention what being the apprentice of 'Super-pervert' Jiraiya had shown him. These images, however, were always 'enhanced,' too adult or too crude to ever be his Sakura. This, however... this was definitely Sakura's body he was seeing, and it... it was even better then he pictured it. Now it was Naruto's turn to wipe the blood off his nose.

"Heh heh... uh, okay. Go change back into your regular clothes and I'll stop the transformation," Naruto finally said. "It's time you get on home, and I... uh, I need to take a cold shower, I think."

Chikan nodded, knowing _exactly_ what Naruto meant. Darting behind the shouji, he found his clothes and tossed them back on as quickly as possible. Not only was he getting more embarrassed then he thought he would displaying someone else's naked body, he was also getting cold... and even the clothes didn't seem to help that much. Finally, he darted back to his professor, a reluctant grin on his face.

"Okay, sensei, I'm ready. Change me back."

With a mere wave, Naruto dispelled the henge. "There... now, go on home. I'll talk with you again, next class. Don't be late -- we'll be starting on the basics of henge techniques."

"Yes, sensei!" Chikan agreed. More than ever, he was impressed with what a ninja could do -- after all, Sakura's demonstration was dramatic, yes, but there wasn't really that much to it. But this... he'd not needed any blood, no papers, nothing -- it was just a few silly finger gestures and a couple words, and he was suddenly a girl. This could be _quite_ interesting. He wondered when the new bathhouse being built would open...

Naruto was still in a daze ( long after Chikan had left) from what he had seen when a figure he quite definitely recognized emerged from the shadows -- or rather, from the shouji screen which then disolved into shadows. "I hope it was worth it, Naruto-kun," Sakura said dangerously, taking a few steps towards him.

He jumped. "S-sakura-chan! What are you doing here?"

"You know perfectly well why I'm here, Naruto-kun," Sakura said, stressing the 'kun' in a way that implied he was in definite danger. "I wanted to see how the prank turned out, after all. So of course... I saw everything. So tell me, Naruto-kun, was it worth it?"

Naruto thought long and hard about how to answer, but finally decided to nod slightly. "Yes, Sakura-chan. I... I enjoyed it very much," he answered hesitently, blushing.

Sakura grinned evilly. "Good. You might not ever get to see it again. Are you ready to see what _I_ do to people who try to peep on me, naked, without my permission?"

He winced, but nodded. "I... yes, Sakura-chan."

Several seals started forming in her hand, the final one pushing outwards at Naruto. She winked at him. "Kai."

* * *

"Hey, Chikan," Hiniku Butakatsu greeted him. Akane, Shiro, and Pansuki were all gathered around, waiting for their erstwhile friend. "I thought that Naruto-sensei was going to kill you, after the way he fought you in class. I guess he likes to stick up for his girlfriend's honor, huh?" 

"He has a funny sense of honor with that 'girlfriend' of his," Chikan snorted. "First, he tries to make me think that I'm going to be killed, because he needed to get 'revenge' for that Sakura chick, and then he has me sho-- uh oh."

He could feel the chakra dissolve around him. At some unseen signal, all of his clothes -- or the illusions he thought were his clothes -- faded away into nothingness. The three fellow students gawked at him, as he could sense the breeze that indicated he wasn't even allowed underwear by his prankster of a teacher.

"Hey, not bad, Chikan-san," Pansuki crowed, taking a gander at places he hadn't let any girl see of him, before. "Look me up in a few years, would you?"

That broke through the haze of the other two, sending them into huge fits of laughter. Burning with the strength of his blush, Chikan tried his best to cover himself up with his hands. Turning away, he darted as fast as he could in the direction of his home. It appeared he'd been mislead -- the 'revenge' Naruto had sought wasn't the fear of death he was giving him... but the 'eye for an eye' of being put on display, naked as the day he was born.

_Perhaps, _he thought, _I shouldn't talk about Sakura-sensei ever again. At least not when either of them has a chance of hearing me._

* * *

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Yuugao-sensei didn't tell me how draining that would be to my chakra system." 

"You did the technique?" Naruto asked, surprised. "I thought you were going to have her make the illusory clothes, and you would just dispel them."

"I asked her to," Sakura explained. "But she said she couldn't do it. At least she taught me the technique -- giving me lessons in genjutsu was the main reason she was picked for this mission, after all. So, do you want to give him back his real clothes... or should I?"

"Why don't you?" Naruto suggested. "It'll make the prank that much more complete."

"Good idea. Thanks, Naruto-kun," Sakura said, taking the bundle.

"By the way, Sakura-chan?" Naruto began.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" she answered, a bit preoccupied trying to stuff the clothing into her pack.

"Erm... why?"

"Eh?" That got her attention.

"Why did you let me, uh, get that peek? I mean... we aren't... we haven't..."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm certainly not ready to show you my 'bits' on purpose, Naruto-kun. I may never be ready to. The thing is... I'm probably going to be living at your place often enough that one of us might accidentally catch the other... not fully dressed. Given this inevitability, _and_ the fact that you didn't go back to your old, annoying, pestering, 'wild' ways during the initial bathroom incident, itself, I figured it would be okay to let you see what I looked like... provided that I wasn't the one who was actually showing you." She paused. "And it would have been damn near impossible to pull that prank off without letting you see it."

"Uh, right," Naruto agreed, although he could think of maybe a dozen ways to do it without seeing the illusory version of Sakura. He wasn't going to argue the point, that was for sure.

Sakura walked up to him, giving him a quick peck on the lips and a pat on the shoulder. With a wiggle in her step, she giggled, "Good night, Naruto-kun. I think I'd better stay at Ino's for the next few nights, no matter what. Be sure to take that cold shower, okay?"

Inside her head, Inner Sakura was grinning. _I can be a right mean bitch sometimes, can't I?_

* * *

Notes: Sakura's blowing hot and cold for poor Naruto, isn't she? Ah, well -- a few more chapters before their 'big' moment, still. I'm afraid I have to remind people that I'll be on jury duty again tomorrow (I think for the last day, thankfully), so it's unlikely I'll get another chapter out until Tuesday. Next chapter will feature Naruto in his other job, as Kakashi's assistant. Until then... 


	22. V3 Chapter 12

Volume 3

Notes: Could I point out that reviews saying 'update soon' and nothing else posted three minutes after I release a chapter is unlikely to speed me up any? Most reviewers have been pretty good about this sort of thing, but... I mean, come on, people! I think the fact I'm getting a chapter a day out, most days, is pretty remarkable. A chapter every three minutes, though? That's expecting a bit much. By the way, regarding a mistake I made much earlier in the fic: It appears I'm not the only one who believed the Chidori and the Raikiri were seperate techniques. Shounen Jump (Japan) has them listed seperately in the 'most popular technique' polls, according to a translation posted to a couple forums I've been visiting. Huh. Imagine that. Oh, btw -- I said that this chapter would feature Naruto working with Kakashi. I changed my mind after that (largely due to an overly hot day in a courthouse listening to insanely bad lawyers convince a jury that the client was guilty (because the defense was so bad), but that we couldn't rule that way (because of how stupid the prosecution was being)). I decided to revise my plan slightly so that I didn't have to write about laws and legal situations, like my original plan was for this chapter. Instead, I decided to relay the important information another way. Ah, well -- enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 12

It had been a week since the prank had taken place, and the class was still chuckling about it from time to time. When Sakura handed Chikan his clothes the next class, the boy broke down and apologized profusely to the girl. Naruto's next session, he explained the whole prank... largely to explain the first three techniques he'd be teaching them. Naruto and Sakura's own class session, with Anko, had been unexpectedly delayed when the female jounin came down with a bad case of pnuemonia. Sakura checked her out, determining that she'd actually been sick since the month-long march through the rain getting to Blossom. Some of her bad attitude of earlier turned out to be because she had been hiding her illness, and so Sakura spent almost an hour admonishing the woman before applying the best treatments she knew. It wouldn't take more than a week to recover completely, thanks to the medicines she'd produced, but that meant thier own training was delayed. A sparring session with Jiraiya took her place, which turned out to be quite interesting for Sakura. Seeing what one of the other sannin could do really impressed upon her how great they actually were, and the fact that Naruto was a match for him (if not more than a match for him) yet was unsure if he was strong enough for the coming fight with Orochimaru and Sasuke told her just how big of a battle they were getting ready for. She was also quite impressed with how much of a pervert Jiraiya was, and admired how little of that perversion seemed to have rubbed itself off on Naruto.

Sakura was actually starting to get more and more comfortable with her relationship with Naruto. Yes, she believed that he loved her -- and he certainly had a bit of lust to add to that, if his reaction to seeing the 'memory' of her naked body was any indication -- but she also realized he wasn't going to demand anything from her she wasn't ready to give. Until she had really decided what to do about Sasuke -- and there were a lot of things to decide in that regard -- she wanted to try and remain loyal, as Naruto had remained loyal to her. The problem was, she hadn't decided to 'be loyal' until after she'd decided to -- and gone on -- a date with Naruto. If she hadn't read her family's scroll on the Mangekyou Sharingan, then such determination would have left her already, if she were honest with herself. She needed to decide, before she and Naruto confronted Sasuke, whether it was worth the sacrifice... Well, that wasn't something she needed to worry about right away. She had time to think about it... she hoped. Meanwhile, she felt she could enjoy her time with Naruto -- the genie of 'dating' had already been let out of the bottle, there was no point in stuffing it back in -- even being his 'boyfriend' was something she could justify as not being anything new since deciding to be loyal to Sasuke. After all, it was true -- Naruto was her boyfriend... it's just that Sasuke had a prior claim on her heart, and she wasn't sure she was willing to forgo that claim yet. She hadn't planned to be, well, kissing him... but she supposed, as long as it was merely kissing, it was okay.

She was heading over to watch the last few minutes of his class, as they were planning to go out to dinner afterwards. It wasn't exactly a date -- at least, they hadn't called it such when making the arrangements. They hadn't really seen much of each other since the practice with Jiraiya, three days before, so this was just a friendly meeting to chat about things and to 'keep in touch.' She was considering asking him for a date, this time, though she intended to spend a bit more time preparing for it first. She was planning to make up for her abysmal behavior during their previous date, and so had to plan for something special... but that would take some planning, and she wanted to have _everything_ planned before she asked. She didn't want to be on an 'official' date until she'd gotten all the plans made, so she really wasn't going to consider this a date. Nope. Just a friendly get-together, like she'd said. No chance of kissing or anything like that -- just dinner, that was it. She wouldn't let herself be talked into any walks around town to see what fantastic place Naruto had found that time (how he learned all these things about this new village that fast, Sakura didn't know), nor would she join him at his apartment afterward to 'talk.' She had an early day, tomorrow, after all. No, there was no way this dinner could possibly be considered a 'date.'

"Sakura-chan," an unexpected voice called from behind her. She turned around to find that Kakashi was walking up towards her. "You going to see Naruto, too?"

"Yeah," she said. "He and I are going out to dinner, tonight."

"Ah," Kakashi replied, nodding. "Are you two finally dating?"

"Finally?" Sakura repeated, blushing slightly. "Um... well, we've had all of two dates, both since we got back from the Sand mission -- I thought you knew about them! So, yes, we are 'finally' dating... but this isn't a date, just dinner."

"Ah," her former jounin instructor nodded. "Well, I'm afraid I'll have to delay your 'dinner' for a bit -- I need to talk to him about business after his class. It should only take a few minutes, though, and then you'll be free to go."

Sakura sighed. "Well, it should be okay. It's just dinner, after all."

"Sure, sure," Kakashi agreed, sounding as if he wasn't entirely certain he believed her. "How are classes going?"

"Better then I feared after my first day teaching," Sakura admitted. "They've started learning how to access chakra, even if they can't do anything with it yet. They're all very weak, but I think if they just start using it more they'll get it up to a reasonable level before too long. I've only had three lessons with them, though, so it's hard to tell..."

"Any standouts?" Kakashi asked.

"Inari-san's pretty good," Sakura admitted. "He seems to have been trying his best to teach himself ninjitsu based on what he witnessed us doing the last time we were in Wave country. Once he learned a little bit about chakra, he was actually able to use what he'd already worked out himself, and that's made him a rather fast learner so far. Possibly too fast -- things are coming so easily for him, he's losing the stamina build-up that the usual set of failures produces. Other then him, Adaha-san seems to be rather skilled -- although I have a feeling he came from a family of ninjas, since he seems to have a doujutsu which he'll need to learn how to use. He's an orphan -- doesn't even know the name of his clan -- so he didn't learn anything from his family. His chakra level is the highest of the entire class, and he's learning some things easier then most of his classmates. Outside of them, there's not much to speak of as far as raw talent goes, although Naruto-kun tells me that there are a few people who seem to have a talent for taijutsu in the crowd."

"I hardly consider twenty-one people a 'crowd,'" Kakashi pointed out. "And there'd better be more decent ninja's to come from this group than that. We're required to produce at least three genin teams from this class, if we want Blossom to remain viable."

Sakura looked at the Blossom emblem on her wrist guard, symbolizing her affiliation with the new village. "It'd be a shame if this town failed," she admitted. "A ninja village named after me appeals to my ego, even if it wasn't really named _for_ me."

"Actually, it was named for you," Kakashi said. "Tazuna-dono got the naming rights when he agreed to foot the bill for this village's construction and first few months of life. He wanted to name it after a member of team seven, and he decided calling the village 'Fishcake' was probably a bad idea."

She blinked up at him. "You're kidding, right? He really was considering 'Fishcake' as a village name?"

"He said he was," Kakashi replied dubiously. "Somehow, I think that he pointed that one out to highlight just how ridiculous some of the names they came up with were, before they settled on Blossom."

"Blossom's a fine name," Sakura pointed out. "I mean, come on, is 'Leaf' or 'Sand' really any better, really?"

"You may have a point," Kakashi admitted. "Blossom is a good name for this village, however -- as a satellite village, Konoha founded this place to teach certain people certain things. It likely will grow beyond its original purpose, but calling this village 'Blossom' is an accurate description of the reason it has been founded -- to allow some of us to blossom."

"That's terribly corny, you know," Sakura remarked.

"I have to say it," Kakashi sighed. "The words were in the proclamation announcing the founding of a new ninja village. 'A place where young ninja will blossom' were the exact words in the charter."

Sakura winced. "Who wrote a charter like that?"

"Gai-san, of course," Kakashi sighed. "Who else?"

They continued their small talk the rest of the way to the amphitheatre Naruto was training his class in. There was a lot to say, as they hadn't seen much of each other since moving out to their respective apartments, so conversation was easy as they relayed the basics of what each of them had been doing. Kakashi knew something of the prank -- not only had Naruto given him a censored description of his plans, but the naked boy streaking across town had been quite the topic of conversation for days -- but the details of it impressed him. He was pleased to hear that Yuugao had agreed to teach Sakura the technique, but not as pleased to hear about the ANBU's reluctance. He promised to have a talk with her, but couldn't swear to that having any effect. "Give her time," was his advice. "She's been in mourning for a lost lover for longer then you've been in mourning over Sasuke, and she hasn't recovered nearly as much as you have. Try to help her through it all, and if worse comes to worse I'll teach you what I can of genjutsu. I would have, years ago, if I'd had time."

When they arrived at the amphitheatre, things were a bit chaotic. Apparently, Naruto believed in one-on-one instruction... and had over a dozen clones flitting back and forth between students. Adaha was in a corner, working with a clone and -- to thier surprise -- Hanabi Hyuuga. Apparently, Naruto had already brought in someone to help the boy without having told Sakura, first. Kakashi was a little surprised that he had not been asked to help with the doujutsu.

Upon seeing the pair, Hanabi seemed to make a few excuses and then dart over to them. "Greetings, Kakashi-sama," she said, bowing her head respectfully.

"Hanabi-san," Kakashi replied, nodding to acknowledge the courtesy.

"I must ask how Asuma-sensei is doing setting up communications lines with Konoha," she said.

"We're expecting a team from Konoha to arrive next month for the final preparations," Kakashi explained. "Until then, personal mail is not permitted -- business only traffic already has an excessively long delay."

She sighed, then straightened up into a more confident stance. "I must send word to my father, as soon as possible. It is important."

"What is it?"

"That boy -- Adaha, I believe his name was," Hanabi explained. "He is a Hyuuga."

"A Hyuuga?" Kakashi repeated. He squinted over at the child, then raised his forehead protector to double-check with his sharingan. What he saw didn't explain anything. "I admit, he has some unusual characteristics, but he doesn't look like a Hyuuga -- he certainly doesn't have the white eyes of the byakuugen."

"That is because," Hanabi sighed, speaking in very reluctant tones. "He is from a line of the Hyuuga clan which predates the byakuugan's enhancement. He doesn't realize it, himself, but I can tell -- I can See it. I know what to look for. It's the Hyuuga clan trademarks... without the enhancements produced from the Oni we captured three hundred years ago. But he has a primitive form of the byakuugan, and so I must talk with my father immediately."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure, she knew that Adaha probably had ninja in his blood, but the Hyuuga clan's blood? That was... astonishing, to say the least.

"Ah," Kakashi replied. "That explains it. He is from a part of the clan which must have seperated from the Head Family prior to even the existence of the village Konoha was built around. So... I can understand why the interest, but why is it so important that you inform your father immediately?"

"He is not from the head family," Hanabi replied, as if that would explain everything.

"You are not putting a cursed seal on him," a voice said from behind her. All three turned their attention to where Naruto -- or at least another of his clones -- stood. "He may have once been a member of his clan, but he's not any longer. He doesn't even have your eyes. You will not torture him."

"This is clan business, not yours," Hanabi snapped forcefully. "The cursed seal is not a torture, it is simply a means of protection. And the Hyuuga clan--"

"Has no claim over the boy," Kakashi sighed. "Naruto's right. If his family line is so old that it predates the Hyuuga's ascendency, then it also predates the Hyuuga clan law seperating the Branch Family from the Head Family. He is an orphan -- there is no proof they were even calling themselves the Hyuuga at that time."

Hanabi reddened in anger. "Nonetheless, my father must be told."

"And he will be. But not for another month, when the messenger service is complete enough to allow personal mail to travel. And, in the meantime, it would seem as if you are the one who is most qualified to train this boy. So, unless you are needed for other duties, you will be assigned to work with him -- under Naruto's close supervision -- during these class sessions. Is that understood?"

The Hyuuga girl huffed, but nodded. "Yes, sir. But do not be surprised if my father has you recalled for interfering in our clan business."

"Your father doesn't have that power," Kakashi pointed out. "Even the entire political might of the council lacks that power. Only the hokage could remove me, and I assure you Tsunade-sama will do no such thing. Now, I believe the day is mostly done -- I suggest you leave now, and cool off. A genin such as yourself should not try and pull rank over a jounin-oyabun -- if I were a different man, I would have you killed right now."

For the first time, a little fear entered Hanabi's face, and so she gathered what little dignity she still could and ran off. Relaxing moderately, Kakashi turned to the blond boy who was watching her go.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, shaking his head. "Why are the Hyuuga clan so... so..."

"It is the demon inside them," Kakashi explained, deciding to answer the question without forcing him to finish his answer. "They fear it greatly, even though it has long since been removed. They didn't used to be so strict, but when the Uchiha clan evolved in their midst, they decided they had to institute some form of protection, some way of stopping others from repeating the same experiment which created the first civil war in their own clan. I believe the way they have done it will eventually lead to a new civil war, but perhaps this civil war will not be as bloody as those previous. At any rate, fighting will not be permitted in the walls of Konoha -- that much is certain." He shook his head. "Dismiss your class -- you're already running late. Then, you and I will need to talk for a bit."

"But, uh," he turned to look at Sakura, who smiled encouragingly. "I'm supposed to go with Sakura-chan for dinner. Can this wait?"

"I suppose, but I'd rather talk with you about it, now," Kakashi replied. "It will only take a few minutes, and you will still have time for dinner."

"Go on, Naruto-kun," Sakura laughed. "I'll wait."

* * *

'A few minutes' turned into a half hour, and Sakura started to wonder if she had been stood up. Finally, just when she was about to give up on him, a rather flustered looking Naruto emerged from the room he and Kakashi had disappeared to, running as fast as he could with an apology on his lips. She accepted the apology -- although she accepted it only reluctantly. She knew it wasn't his fault, but that didn't make her any less annoyed.

"So, what's going on that kept you so busy?" Sakura asked after they had both placed their orders -- at a ramen place, of course. There wasn't any restaurant that said 'date' less then a ramen joint. "It had to have been important if you almost skipped dinner for it."

Naruto blinked. "I wasn't going to skip dinner."

"Okay, almost skipped dinner _with me_ for it. I was just about to leave," Sakura pointed out.

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested. "You're the one who told me to go with him!"

Smiling at the little quirk in his voice that reminded her of when he was still a twelve year old on his first mission, complaining because she'd insulted him (probably unjustly -- she could now admit she was a bit too hard on him from time to time), she shook her head. "Never mind, Naruto -- you're right. I did tell you to, didn't I? Still, what was that all about, anyway?"

Naruto shrugged. "Kakashi-sensei had a lot to say, most of which I didn't understand at all. He was going on about money and how long we've been in town and the like. It comes down to how the country of Wave only gave us so much, and how we've only got a certain amount of time to start making money or else we're going to run out fast. So, even though construction isn't quite complete and the messenger service is still a month away from being established, we're going to have to start accepting a few missions already."

"Well, it was bound to happen at some point," Sakura pointed out. "Why did he need to talk with you right away, though? It seems to me he could have either talked with you before your class or wait until tomorrow morning for something like that."

"He's sending out the first mission tonight," Naruto explained. "It's a time-sensitive class C mission, and he wanted my opinion on which team to send out. He says I've worked with the genin more then he has, and would probably have a better idea as to who had the skills to perform the mission."

"A time sensitive class C? What are you sending those kids to do?" Sakura asked.

"Something about guard duty for a parade," Naruto explained. "One of the local sports teams won an international championship, and there's fear that there could be riots during the celebration. We aren't being hired to stop the riots -- they've got a few platoons of samurai already on location for that -- but they want to make sure the athletes aren't harmed while they're in the parade while still allowing them to be 'accessible' to the fans."

"Why weren't we ever given easy class C missions like that?" Sakura complained. "All we ever had were boring as hell class D's and a single class C which turned out to really be a class A level."

"Well, Sakura-chan," Naruto mused. "We took the chuunin exam pretty quickly, according to ero-sennin. Normally, we would have been sent on two or three more class Cs before being asked to participate, but Kakashi-sensei thought we were ready early. After the chuunin exam... well, we didn't exactly have many missions as a complete team, did we?"

"I might have learned more if we had," Sakura sighed. "I didn't get enough experience to know just how poor a ninja I really was. I thought my brain would make up for my other shortcomings... but it didn't. So, when I started studying under Tsunade-shishou, I asked her to teach me medical ninjitsu -- so that I could still use my intellect -- and power moves -- so that I could actually be useful in a battle -- instead of what I apparently have a talent in: genjutsu. I'm starting to regret that, now, since it means I have to learn genjutsu from Yuugao instead of someone who actually cares enough about teaching to teach... but I'm glad that I am no longer have to be the one who's little more than a burden in combat, no longer someone who must be protected whenever we go on a mission."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto protested. "We never felt burdened by you. At least, I didn't."

She smiled at him. "I know -- you've said it, before. But, the fact is, I was the only one who wasn't really ready for the chuunin exam. Ino was better prepared for it then I was -- I just fought with more determination, and I had a natural counter to her attacks... and even with that, I could only manage a tie. And I didn't do anything to make myself better in that month before the tournament, nor did I do anything to make myself better once the Sand-Sound war was over. And I didn't do anything to make myself better while Sasuke-kun was in the hospital. And I didn't do anything to better myself while you went out to rescue him -- I just sat waiting and crying, hoping for your return. It was only afterwards that I realized just how... useless I really was -- I wasn't strong enough to help you go after Sasuke-kun, and so I damn near got a half a dozen good ninjas killed just to go and rescue my crush. I... I felt awful. Especially when I saw how hurt you were -- you had never been that badly hurt, before, not even after your fight with Gaara! I... I felt guilty for making you promise to rescue Sasuke for me, when I couldn't do it myself, nor could I even help. Even if you never felt I was a burden, I felt I was one." She narrowed her eyes at him. "From now on, Naruto-kun, I'm going to put my all into keeping pace with you. I'll not be left behind again, got it?"

"When did I ever leave you behind?" Naruto asked.

"Hm, let's see. How about when you went out to bring Tsunade-shishou back to Konoha?" Sakura asked. "I didn't even know about that until a couple months ago!"

"I didn't even know I was going until I left!" Naruto protested. "Ero-sennin only gave me enough time to pack, and then--"

"How about when you left to rescue Sasuke-kun?" she asked.

"Shikamaru said--"

"How about when you left for two and a half years of training?"

"I had to--"

"Naruto!" she snapped. "I'm not blaming you! I'm just saying... if I'd been able to keep up with you, I wouldn't have been left behind those times. I'd have been taken with you, or asked to join you, or you could have brought me with you. So from now on I'll be right there with you. Because I don't want to ever feel as if I'm a burden ever again..."

Naruto opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish. "Sakura-chan, I... well, I... I don't want you to feel like a burden, either!" Sighing, he looked down. "I can't promise you that I'll never go somewhere without you. There are too many things that might happen where we'd have to go our seperate ways for a while. But if I do leave you behind, it won't be because you're a burden -- I'll promise you that."

Sakura nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. But you'd better keep that promise... because I intend to hold you to it!"

* * *

Notes: See, arrange things a different way, and I can get two chapters worth of important background into one! Naruto's promise (as most of his promises) will become important, though not for a long while. The only thing you're missing by my changing things this way is that I no longer have the complete explanation for the delay with the messenger service that Asuma is setting up -- but I don't think I really even needed that, anyway. Now, just to explain (before anyone asks) about Sakura's internal debate in the second paragraph of this chapter: What I'm trying to show here is that she'd decided -- upon reading the mangekyou scroll her family had left her (and no, you haven't missed anything -- the contents of that scroll are still a secret for you guys) -- that she wanted to remain loyal to Sasuke, which is 'holding her off' of advancing any sort of relationship with Naruto. BUT, I'd also like to point out her 'resolve' is slipping, and she's justifying anything that might be thought of as 'disloyal' (like her kissing Naruto) as, 'Well, as long as it's JUST this, it's okay.' This goes back to what I said in the notes from earlier, where I pointed out that Sakura was torn between her relationship with Naruto and wanting to be 'loyal,' and how that would be stressing out her relationship. It is this stress which will have her assuming the worst of Naruto on occasion (I've decided to limit this to only one more major occurance, to avoid too much redundancy), and it is necessary... and her decision to be loyal to Sasuke will be completely explained in the end. If this bit of waffling on her part is disturbing you, I'll let you know that it'll be seven chapters (as planned -- I may compress two into one, or expand one into two, or both) before that part of her character gets resolved, but then it's resolved COMPLETELY. For the record, I now know that Volume 3 will have a minimum of fifteen more chapters, possibly more... and that the whole Naru-Saku-Sasu triangle will be resolved well before the end (and that through Volume 4 there won't be any doubt at all as to their relationship... although Vol. 3 is definitely going to be the longest of the bunch). Considering this IS a Naru-Saku fic, I don't think it will surprise anyone which way it is resolved... but the resolution of the triangle won't necessarily end all tension between them, nor will they stop having romanticromance-building moments afterwards... although the focus will change to the 'actionadventure' aspect of the story. Those of you interested in how Jury Duty went... well, I'll say that I believe the guy did it, but that both laywers were so incompetent that it ended in a mis-trial... and that's all I want to say about it. That was a wasted week and a day of my life -- unless perhaps you consider all the sweating from listening to a court case in an un-air conditioned courtroom time not wasted. Gah. Next chapter, we get to see Anko working with Naruto and Sakura, despite not being back to full health. Until then... 


	23. V3 Chapter 13

Volume 3

Notes: Notes will appear in a new format as of this chapter, by request.

Please remember that I have adjusted Anko's age from what the data books list, since I believe the data book to be wrong for multiple reasons. She is thirty-nine at this point of the fic, and should be treated as such, so don't complain to me because the 'twenty-four year old' is starting to grow wrinkles, okay? If it's later proven that the data book was right, then I suppose that would make this fic very (very) mildly AU, but so be it.

Also, many of you understood why I included the little bit of Sakura monologue, but there were still a few questions... so there's a bit more internal monologue by Sakura to more fully explain her feelings. I feel this is a bit redundant, since I did the same thing last chapter, but I can include it without much difficulty. If this doesn't explain her behavior to your satisfaction, I'm sorry -- I tried. Anything more will get in the way of the rest of the story, and will just make it longer before this particular conflict is resolved, so... here goes.

Also, I KNEW Sakura meant 'cherry blossom,' not just blossom, but I wasn't trying to say it was. If someone believed otherwise, my apologies.

Also, someone commented that Naruto wasn't training -- not true. He's just not doing enough training for it to appear 'on camera.' I've mentioned (briefly) that he's doing about three hours of training every morning -- not enough to develop new skills, but more just to maintain his current level -- and Sakura has been shown to be learning the odd genjutsu technique. They both are also using their training in order to teach, set up hospitals, etc, and have been sparring with Jiraiya in at least one scene. In this chapter, they're finally starting preparations for meeting Sasuke, so I think you'll see that they're not exactly 'not training,' but are instead learning the practical use of what they already know.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13

EDITS MADE 7/28/05 due to about... oh, twenty people mentioning the same nitpicky error. Ack.

Sakura and Naruto met up early, together, on the day of their first training session with Anko. They had done the same the previous week, only to seperate again when Sakura had to, instead, rush Anko to the newly set up hospital for treatment. Now, however, it was fairly certain that the middle-aged woman would be able to conduct the lesson, even if she would be taking it easy while still recovering her health. Instead of heading straight for the Academy building (as their training session would be in the indoor gym, that day, out of respect for Anko's health), they instead went first to Inuzuka Hana's house. Both of them wanted the young jounin and her team to work with them in their academy lessons over the next couple of weeks, Naruto especially. All too often, he was getting the question, "Doesn't every ninja know these techniques? If so, what good are they?" He wanted to give them a demonstration with a mock tournament, and Hana was who he had chosen as his opponent. Sakura hadn't been quite sure what to make of that -- she knew she shouldn't be jealous, as loyal as Naruto repeatedly demonstrated himself to be, but thoughts of what Jiraiya might have done to his psyche over the years did bear heavily on her mind from time to time. Was he picking Hana because he felt she could give the best demonstration, or because she was the only attractive young woman (other then herself or Ino, but she neglected to remind herself of that) who was qualified to work with him? When Naruto gave her his explanation -- his promise to Kiba -- she had relaxed. Still, it had her wondering about herself: She had yet to fully commit herself to him, after all, yet he had fully committed himself to her. So why was she the one worried about him cheating?

Deep down, Sakura knew the answer, and wasn't too proud of herself for it. She was looking for an excuse she could use to drop Naruto when she finally had her shot with Sasuke, again... and she couldn't find it. Naruto was ideal, for her, he just wasn't Sasuke... and that was the problem. Yet even Sasuke wasn't the Sasuke she loved, or else he never would have left for Orochimaru. But then, there were the secrets of the Uchiha family and the mangekyou sharingan, copied down on her own family scrolls and hidden so that the Uchiha could no longer cover up thier shame entirely. She knew what drove Sasuke, and she knew that there was a cure for it... and that she could be that cure. But still... she was trying to find a reason to sacrifice what she knew she had with Naruto, just to have a chance at curing Sasuke -- to have a chance to make him into the Sasuke she believed he was... but who, perhaps, had never existed. And she was having a very hard time doing it.

Nevertheless, she joined him in pleading with Hana for her help. She, too, could use some help with a demonstration (albeit not as dramatic a demonstration as Naruto was planning), and was considering asking for her help in setting up a veterinary wing at the hospital, and it would be easier convincing Hana to do it if the two of them were together. That it would allow Hana's team to do something was a bit of a bonus, as well -- they had grown rather restless over the time spent in Blossom doing nothing but basic training exercises, and needed something to do. Blossom had started taking missions, it was true, but it was still a small trickle of business. Two missions had been given out -- one to Shiranui Genma's team (the 'guarding athletes during a riot' mission, which turned out to be a waste of time as the fans hadn't rioted as expected. Blossom still recieved its promised pay, however), and one class D assignment given to Ebisu's team to help out at a small farm. Both other teams had returned, and as certain members of Hana's team had part-time jobs in Blossom (most notably Hyuuga Hanabi's tutoring of Adaha) it was deemed that her team wouldn't go out unless the other two were busy... so it seemed highly unlikely they would have much to do for some time.

After getting Hana's reluctant agreement to show up for their classes, the pair made their way to their own training session. When they arrived in the gymnasium, they noticed that Anko was there ahead of them, kneeling and meditating. Signs of her recent illness were still quite apparent on her face, showing in the depth of the laugh lines and crows feet and other types of wrinkles that had started developing just this past year. Circles under her eyes spoke of her exhaustion, and her hair was a wreck -- even by her usual standards. She didn't look well, at all.

"Are you sure you're well enough for this, Anko-sensei?" Sakura asked in greeting, taking a close look with the enhanced senses of her medi-nin training.

"Well," she croaked, before descending into a coughing fit. "I don't think we'll be doing any sparring or anything like that, today. At least I won't. But you both already have the basic skills you need -- Naruto-san, Jiraiya-sama says you're more powerful then him. Kakashi figures you only need to practice what you already know, and to develop your innate talent for genjutsu, and you'll be even better then hokage-sama, Sakura-san. You don't need my help in the power department... what you need is my help in knowing how your enemy fights."

Naruto shrugged. "But I've fought both Sasuke and Orochimaru -- I know how they fight!"

Anko raised an eyebrow. "I've heard of your fights with Orochimaru. You haven't _really_ fought him -- trust me on that. As far as the Uchiha goes... he's got the sharingan, and he'll have been taught by Orochimaru for years -- he won't be the same Sasuke as you knew. He won't fight the same, he won't act the same, and he won't think the same. I know... what Sasuke's going through now, I went through more than a decade ago. My own comrades of that time were unable to recognize how I fought when I finally returned to them."

"You had the cursed seal, too?" Naruto asked, astonished. Unlike Sakura, he hadn't known of the problem which kept Anko isolated from her fellow Konoha ninja.

"Had it? I still have it!" Anko huffed. "I have a little control over it, though, and I never took the 'mind pill' that was offered to me, so I still have my free will. I was the first person to recieve it, in fact -- a 'test subject' to determine if it would work. I and several others... yet I was the only survivor."

"What happened to the others?" Sakura asked, horrified. She knew of the cursed seal, but didn't know anything else about this story.

"Dead," the jounin spat. "Very dead. I confronted Orochimaru... much later, and found that only ten percent of those who recieve his 'gift' survive. I'm not sure if the survivors are the lucky ones or not, though..."

"Anko-sensei..." Sakura said sympathetically.

"Never mind all that," Anko snorted, regaining some of her energy. "I've got to talk with you a bit about how Orochimaru operates. This isn't going to be a very pleasant lecture, let me tell you -- largely because I know how close the two of you were to the Uchiha brat, and I know what Orochimaru must have done to him. This is going to hurt the both of you, but it should help you, too." She glanced at Sakura. "Especially you, girl."

"Me?" Sakura replied, startled.

"Yes, you. Oh, sure, I could give you a whole long list of the techniques he's taught me -- hidden snake hands, double snake destroyer, and so on. Lots of ninjitsu, lots of kinjutsu, a few genjutsu, even some taijutsu... but what would that matter? Sasuke is an Uchiha with the sharingan, and Orochimaru has dedicated his life to learning every technique there is. I'm sure in the decade since he trained me, he's learned thousands of new techniques which would astonish me," Anko sighed. "If you spend all your time trying to find the weaknesses of their techniques, you're bound to fail. There are too many of them to even try -- your only bet is to hope you can execute your moves better then he executes his, which will be a hard thing to do. The only way to do it... is to know how he thinks. Which is why I'm here."

"So you aren't going to teach us any new techniques?" Naruto pouted. "But I thought--"

"I didn't say I wouldn't," Anko laughed... until she started coughing. "But, obviously, it will be some time before I can get to that. In the meantime, what I do have to teach you will be much more invaluable in the coming battle."

"Let's get on with it," Sakura said, stepping over to the woman. "Start your lecture... but while you do, I'm going to be giving you a check-up. That cough sounds worse then it should."

"I'll be fine," Anko said before another coughing fit. "Damn. I hate this. I lose something of myself when I get sick like this."

Sakura paused. "What does that mean?"

"It gets harder to fight the cursed seal," Anko explained. "So I have a harder time being my normal chipper self. Doesn't matter, though -- with what I've got to talk with you about, I probably would have had a hard time remaining 'chipper,' anyway. We need to talk about a number of things. One of which being... I've heard that the two of you are dating, now. Is that true?"

Sakura blinked, looking at Naruto. He, in turn, was looking back expectantly at her -- apparently, he was going to let her field this question. "Uh... yeah, we are. We started dating quite recently, but yes."

Anko nodded, smiling slightly. "That's not a bad thing, but be careful. Orochimaru... exploited a relationship I had with someone special, once. He convinced me that the boy was no good for me, and then took advantage of that to... to convince a fourteen year old girl that becoming the 'lover' of a twenty nine year old sannin was a step up. And he used me, because I was so 'in love' with him, as a weapon... first, against the man who became the Fourth, for he always hated Jiraiya's top student, and then against the Third. I finally left when he was trying to convince me to commit suicide for him to study the chakra in death, in his hunt for immortality. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was a horrible situation... all because I thought I was 'in love' with him."

Sakura winced. There were a lot of parallels with her own situation in that story -- she remembered the things she had told Sasuke she was willing to do for him, just to keep him in Konoha. The only difference was... Sasuke hadn't wanted her as a weapon, yet Orochimaru wanted Anko. Perhaps there were advantages to having been too weak to really contribute much, back then -- if Sasuke had really felt that she would be useful in his revenge, would she now be a missing nin merely awaiting the day when Orochimaru would decide to end her life? Or had Sasuke actually decided not to take her because he wanted to spare her that fate?

Naruto also wasn't too happy about that. He loved Sakura, but even though they were dating he was well aware that she wanted Sasuke instead. Under normal circumstances, as long as it truly made her happy, he'd let her go to be with him and smile for her. If there was a chance, though, that Sasuke would do something like that... but would Sasuke even consider it? Not the Sasuke Naruto knew... but then, hadn't Anko just explained that this wouldn't be the Sasuke he knew? The dilema left Naruto not quite knowing what to do, any more, if Sakura still wanted to go to the other boy... to make Sakura happy by letting her go with him, or to protect Sakura by keeping her away from him?

"Anko-sensei," Sakura began, wanting to know just how far the parallels between them went. "If... if he hadn't tried to make you kill yourself, would you still be with him?"

Anko thought long and hard about how to answer that. The truth was, yes, she probably would have. Knowing what she did, now, though... she was glad things turned out the way they did. However, she was well aware of how close to her own situation was to the girl's, and knew that the truth would be the wrong answer. A lie, however, might be an even worse answer. "When I was still recovering from the shock of realizing just what Orochimaru had done to me, I went to meet the old boyfriend who he had turned me against. I talked things out with him, and we got back together... and he was one of the very few people who did not look at me as 'stained' by having been Orochimaru's lover. Then... kyuubi killed him." She glanced at Naruto, and saw him flinch. "And I thought that the only other person whose life I cared about was lost, then, too. If I was a bit hard on you during the chuunin exam, Naruto-kun, it was because of that. Nevertheless, if I had known what life would have been like in the short time my old boyfriend and I were together, I never would have accepted Orochimaru's advances in the first place. As it is, I deeply regret pursuing the 'love' of someone who, even as I lay in his bed, I could tell didn't love me... while someone who did would have done his everything to make me happy. Would I have still been with Orochimaru now? Well... truth is, I probably would have been dead, by now -- I would never have been able to live that life forever. I would have tried, believing that my 'love' for him would eventually turn him into the man I thought he was... but it never would have, and I would have wasted away until I died."

A suspicion crossed Sakura's mind. "Who was your boyfriend?"

"You would not recognize his name," Anko replied. "It was not well known, and his clan has been dead since kyuubi's attack. Now, we should move on--"

"No!" Sakura snapped, suddenly enraged. She knew it -- she had to be right. She just had to. "What was his name? Give me his name, or so help me..."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried, bewildered. "Calm down!"

"Naruto-kun," Sakura whispered, turning her eyes to him as she was reminded of his presence. "Naruto-kun... I think this is very important. I need to know that man's name... and I think you do, too."

Anko took a deep, raspy breath, then started coughing. Her color greyed, and suddenly Sakura's attention returned to her. "Don't worry," the jounin coughed again. "I think you know the truth, Sakura-san, but this is not the time or place to discuss things. And do not let anyone else know..."

"Anko... I will not give this up," Sakura growled. "Give me his name."

Both women stared each other down, eye to eye. Finally, not leaving Sakura's gaze, Anko commanded, "Naruto... leave. This is a secret which you should not know."

"No, Naruto-kun. Stay. You need to hear this, too," Sakura demanded. "If I'm right, then this is something she should be telling _you,_ not me!"

Naruto hesitated. "Sakura-chan... what is it you think she has to say?"

"Don't answer that, Sakura-san," Anko coughed. "Please... I will explain my reasons, but he cannot know this yet. Please!"

Sakura evaluated the situation in her head. She was almost certain, now, of her suspicions... and Naruto definitely deserved to know them, if she was correct. But she would never know if she was correct unless Anko confirmed it... which she was unlikely to do, it seemed, unless Naruto was out of the room. To make matters worse... the other woman was getting sicker. The illness grew almost visibly the moment she demanded the name, and her health declined the more they talked about it. Perhaps... perhaps it was best to do as she said. For now.

"Fine. Naruto-kun... I guess you should go. Head over to the hospital, and let them know I will be bringing in a patient suffering from a relapse of pneumonia in a few minutes. If I decide her reasons for keeping this from you aren't justified, I'll go ahead and tell you... and if I don't tell you, rest assured I feel that you are better off not knowing. Okay?" she finally said.

"Okay, Sakura-chan," he replied, scratching the back of his head in confusion. "If you say so. I don't really have a clue what's going on, anyway..."

As soon as the door closed behind him, Anko sighed and fell back into a more relaxed position. "Thank you, Sakura-san. I appreciate you at least giving me a chance to explain."

"Yes," Sakura nodded coldly, taking a seat next to the woman, her back ramrod straight with the tension she was feeling. "I'd do some medical ninjitsu on you to help restore some of your health, but at the moment I'm afraid my temper would get the best of me and I'd do you injury, instead. So please, Anko-_sensei,_ explain to me just why Naruto isn't supposed to know... that you're his only living relative, and in fact are his mother?"

Anko closed her eyes, shaking her head sadly. "Arashi of the Uzumaki clan, sometimes known as the Fourth, was his father... and yes, I am, indeed, his mother. He cannot know that, however... nor can anyone else in the village, either. For his own good."

"Please," Sakura snorted. "Enlighten me as to how a boy who has never known the love of a family would be better off not knowing who his mother is?"

"Simple," Anko replied. "If his mother were such a stain on Konoha that it would cause him to lose all the respect he has gained in the sixteen years of his life that he has worked to build enough of a reputation that he can actually function in society. He has taught people, now, that he isn't the kyuubi -- or at least isn't _just_ the kyuubi. I didn't realize that, myself... and I'm ashamed of it. I abandoned my son as a baby because I believed him to have been destroyed, sacrificed to the same creature that killed my lover and his father -- his body might have still been alive, but his soul... I didn't think his soul stood a chance of being his own, any more. The first time I'd ever seen him was that day... I tasted his blood. I'll let you in on a little secret -- one of the things Orochimaru succeeded in teaching me was how to record an 'imprint' of someone's mind by tasting their blood. It's not exactly perfect -- I cannot search memories, nor predict what his emotions are or what he believes. I can, however, memorize his chakra patterns... and, if I spend enough time to distinguish between the different 'flavors' of his blood, look into his soul." She shook her head. "I should have known, then, not to stay with that bastard... I knew from the moment he taught me that trick that he had a dark soul."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I could taste it!" Anko explained, reaching out and grabbing Sakura's arm in a spurt of energy. "I knew... I knew, after I spent the time to look at it, that Naruto was still my son. And I was ashamed that I hadn't raised him... but even more ashamed that I couldn't approach him, even now. He has built a life by overcoming the stigma of kyuubi, and convincing people that he was not the beast. I cannot add to that stigma by announcing, all of a sudden, that he is my son... that would ruin his dreams, and I cannot allow that. I'd place the decision in his hands, but what could be more cruel to him, then to tell him he has a mother... but, unless he wants to give up all of his dreams, he can never associate with her, and can never tell anybody about her?"

"Anko-sensei, I'm not sure--"

"Please, Sakura-san!" Anko begged. "Tell me. Would you torture him by making him choose between his love for you, and his dreams to become hokage?"

Sakura winced. "No. But he wouldn't choose -- he'd have both."

Anko sighed, shaking her head. "He might try to take both, but he would never succeed. Why do you think Arashi and I were never able to get married? We would have, you know -- he was already hokage, he wouldn't have lost anything. The Advisors, however... the Advisors said he could never be hokage and marry me. They would expel him from the ranks of Konoha nin if he were to marry me. The Advisors must approve of the hokage's selection... if they wouldn't let me marry a man who was hokage, what makes you think they would allow my son to become hokage? Especially if he had the problems he already has with kyuubi being sealed inside him?"

It was suddenly a much harder decision for Sakura to make. Keep Naruto's dream alive -- a dream he actually seemed to have succeeded in (even if he didn't know it, yet), according to Tsunade -- or destroy it forever but give him a mother? Sighing, Sakura began her medical treatment. "I suppose I've calmed down enough to do this right. Tell me, Anko-sensei... do you think there is any time when he might know that you are his mother?"

"After he's hokage, I suppose," Anko snorted. "If that ever happens."

"It will," Sakura replied.

"Maybe. No-one ever thought Arashi would make hokage, either -- least of all me -- but he proved us all wrong. I wouldn't put it past his son to do the same..."

"Anko-sensei," Sakura began, using her chakra to isolate the damage to the lungs which turned out not to be entirely pneumonia, but actually pneumonia-induced bronchitis. "Perhaps you cannot tell him he is your son, yet. You will, one day, however -- because he has already proved all of us doubters wrong. I got the word from Tsunade-shishou herself: He will be named the Sixth hokage, if he still wants the job, when she retires. I suspect he will... and I also suspect that you will be alive to see that, assuming I complete this treatment properly. If you don't tell him this secret then, I will. So he will know you are his mother... but there is something I want you to promise me, first."

"Yes?"

"Even if you cannot admit to being his mother, I want you to _be_ his mother. Treat him kindly, give him motherly advice, be his friend if nothing else. He has never known the love of a parent, and almost all of the adult role-models who don't spit at him when they see him coming are males -- Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, Iruka-sensei, Gai-san... the only female role model he associates with regularly is Tsunade-shishou. I love my master dearly -- she's almost like an aunt or an uncle, sometimes -- but she does not make the best example of a mother figure. Niether do you... but perhaps you could work on that a bit."

Anko sighed. "Why do you think I came? I want to help you guys live through this, I want revenge on Orochimaru... but mostly, I want to get to know my son, far away from where anyone would look down on him for associating with me. I'd have started that, sooner... but I've been too ill, since we returned, and I'm still not healthy. And I won't be able to when my health returns, either -- I'll be too busy beating the crap out of the both of you, trying desperately to prepare you for something no-one can really be prepared for. When the crap with that Uchiha brat and Orochimaru have settled, then maybe. Until then, however, I can't."

Sakura winced. "He may need more help, then, than you know. I... if we can capture Sasuke-kun, I know how to save him from Orochimaru's mental control _and_ the Uchiha madness which caused him to abandon his principles and search for Orochimaru in the first place. It will mean I have to break up with Naruto-kun to do it, however..."

Anko looked shocked for a moment, then shook her head. "Girl... I like you with my son. If you leave him, though, to save that traitor... I'm going to hate you. I hope you know that."

The pink haired kunoichi swallowed nervously. "Anko-sensei... I don't know what to do. I loved Sasuke-kun first. I devoted my life to him, before we were even genin. I became a ninja to be with him, I destroyed the relationship with the only childhood friend I ever had because she liked him too, and I nearly got five people killed trying to keep him around when he didn't want to stay. And that was before I knew that I could be the key which would save him from insanity... yet despite all of that, I'm still not sure what I'll do when he shows. I... Naruto-kun is a great man. I may even love him, in a way... but I cannot let go of Sasuke-kun. My heart is torn... but whatever I decide, I am going to do the best I can to minimize whatever hurt Naruto experiences -- if he's hurt because I leave him, I will do what I can to soothe that pain. If something else tries to hurt him, I will do everything in my power to protect him. But... right now, I cannot forsake Sasuke-kun for him. I..."

Anko closed her eyes and sighed. "You don't have to explain. I understand. I didn't say I would kill you, or that I would do anything to stop you... just that I would hate you. Because, whatever your reason, you would still be hurting my boy."

Sakura hated _herself,_ right then. "Naruto knows -- or at least, he knows part of it. He expects me to go with Sasuke-kun when he returns. I expect to go with Sasuke-kun, as well. But I don't know... I just don't know. To my mind, picking Naruto over Sasuke is killing one boy I love in order to make a boy I'm not sure about happy. To pick Sasuke over Naruto, I am saving the life of a boy I love, and doing what a boy who loves me expects of me. It'll hurt him, I know... but I can't help it! I just... I don't know what to do." She paused. "If I keep this up, I'm going to start crying. I don't want to be crying when I get you to the hospital, so let's go."

"All right, Sakura-san," Anko sighed, standing up with some difficulty. "If you're sure. But if you take that Uchiha brat over Naruto, you will be travelling down the same dark path I did all those years ago... and trust me, girl -- in the end, whatever happens with the Uchiha, you will regret it."

* * *

Notes: Meh... I'm actually not too happy with this chapter. At one point, I revealed more than I wanted to about something (about what, I won't say), but I can't figure out how to get rid of it and keep the story flowing. Ah, well... at least that's over. Next chapter, Naruto and Inuzuka Hana spar. Until then... 


	24. V3 Chapter 14

Volume 3

Notes: Apparently, I was worse then usual last chapter about certain mistakes -- writing 'father' instead of 'mother' at least once, 'Sasuke' instead of 'Naruto' at least once, and so forth. Oops. All I can say is I goofed. I've done it before, and likely will do it again before this things over, but I didn't even notice until it was pointed out to me. I did point out at the beginning this was a one-draft fic, did I not? (Surely you people don't believe I MEANT for Anko to say she was Naruto's father, do you? Sheesh... I think I had a record number of reviews this chapter (after writing this, I checked. Indeed, I had more reviews for that last chapter then any other, so far. This is as of about 12 hours from posting... which means, since I suspect this may be a two-day or even three-day length chapter, it should be well over that record before I post this), and just about every one of them mentioned that silly goof! Most of the rest at least mentioned the 'Sasuke' instead of 'Naruto' good. Ack! Hmm... maybe I should include an error like this every chapter, just to inspire the reviews... heh heh heh.) Ah, well -- that very minor correction added with chapter re-upload simultaneous with this chapter. Um, in the future, could you all remember I said this was supposed to be a one draft fic? Twenty plus reviews telling me that I need to change a single word or two is very convincing, but... it's also a bit, ah, startling. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Um... okay, I guess typing 'I'm sorry' for every review mentioning I need to fix this would be ridiculous. You get the idea, though.

Someone commented that Sakura's curiousity about Naruto's lineage wasn't well founded. I say they need to reread volume two, where she's constantly wondering just how the Uzumaki's were related to her family, and what became of that clan. It hadn't come up in a while, true, but it had been established. She wasn't exactly 'actively searching' for information, at the time, but she was the only person who had the background to be able to take Anko's story and puzzle it out -- she knew of the kyuubi, she knew a little about Anko, she had seen the hokage's records for a number of things, and then she heard Anko's story. She also knew that the Uzumaki name wasn't spoken of, much, any more -- remember that she's seen the Haruno clan records, which have been shown to reveal things which have been censored out of the government records. She knows more then anyone else... and so, when the pieces fell into place for her, suddenly -- instead of being an orphan -- Naruto was an abandoned child, and the abandoner was right in front of her. I think I'd flip if I encountered a similar situation involving my own girlfriend, and Sakura's got more of a temper then I do.

People are starting to say, 'Hey, even if it's temporary, you should pair Naruto off with someone else for a while (to make Sakura jealousto help alleviate Sakura's guiltetc., etc.)' Er... no. Sorry. That's the POINT -- Naruto's undying loyalty is the point; and breaking it right now, so close to the end of Sakura's indecisiveness, would only extend the madness. Sorry, no. At this point, I've already basically said 'if it weren't for what's written in the Haruno family scrolls about the Uchiha, she would have given up on Sasuke already.' Since you don't know what's on those scrolls yet, I can't exactly explain everything. The point is being hammered home for the exact opposite reason many of you seem to think -- she's not trying to push it at everyone, she's trying to convince herself it's worth it. Have patience, my readers -- Naruto wins out, and it'll be soon enough. And you won't need to worry about Sakura's 'Sasuke-complex,' as some call it, again... until the matter is resolved once and for all. (You may have a couple rocky patches between the two, but Sasuke will not be mentioned in any way that matters, again (beyond something like 'still training for Sasuke's arrival,' that is) until I'm ready to resolve the matter.

Also, I didn't exactly say that I felt my last chapter was BAD (although, apparently, it was, considering how many people were beating the 'you said Anko is Naruto's Father' over my head), but rather I didn't like it because I felt it gave away some things I wanted to hold back too early. No-one seems to have commented on that part of the chapter, though, so maybe it was subtle enough that it's easily overlooked. I hope so...

* * *

Chapter 14

Word of the coming 'mock tournament' during Naruto's class had gone around the village, so by the time of his class there was quite a crowd of interested spectators present. Sakura was there -- ostensibly to provide any emergency medical treatment required, but more because she was interested in seeing Naruto participate. Anko was there, as well, as were Kakashi, Ebisu and Genma's groups, Asuma, and even Sakura's parents. There were only two people Sakura could think of who were missing this tournament -- Ino, who was out of town working with the Wave to develop a new cipher, and Yuugao.

The absence of the ANBU girl was mildly disturbing for Sakura. She had been able to pry a couple of simple genjutsu techniques from the woman, but outside of that it seemed as if her 'genjutsu specialist' instructor wasn't willing to associate with... well, anyone. She was concerned for the woman, but what could she do? Yuugao had been sent on this mission as a rehabilitation assignment, but it appeared she just didn't want to be rehabilitated. Sakura wondered if she should talk with Kakashi some more, about it -- she really needed to learn genjutsu if she wanted to be involved in the combat end of any assault against Orochimaru. Her medical ninjitsu made her a threat, as did her enhanced strength (which was derived from her medical ninjitsu), but that just brought her to the level of, perhaps, your average elite jounin. Orochimaru was on another level, entirely... so she needed something to boost her from 'elite jounin' to... well, whatever level you called the one on which the sannin and their equals resided.

"You look troubled," Anko said, standing next to her.

Sakura smiled up at the woman. They had their differences, that was for sure, but she found she actually liked the woman... except for that thing about her hiding the truth from Naruto. Anko had said she liked her, as well, save for her attachment to Sasuke. "You look a lot healthier, yourself."

"I've had a good doctor," Anko laughed. "I'm not one hundred percent, but I think as long as I take it easy for a while I'll be fine."

Sakura ran a quick scan of the older woman. "Well... you won't be up to sparring this weekend, but you should be okay. Naruto and I could spar with Jiraiya again..."

She snorted. "Yeah, you do that with the old pervert. I don't particularly look forward to working with him again, though. He's as bad as Orochimaru, in some ways, he's just more... friendly. And I suppose he's on our side. But... well, I got sick of being his student decades before -- that's partly why Orochimaru was so easily able to take me away from his team."

"It was you, the Fourth, and... who was the other student?"

"Gensui-san? He... didn't exactly live very long once our team broke up. Jiraiya spent his time with Arashi trying to put him on the fast track to hokage, I was with Orochimaru in ANBU, and Gensui... figured he was better then the both of us, so he started taking solo missions. His head was mailed back to the Third, one day, without its body... although I never heard anything about who did it. I wasn't too upset about it -- he was a rather unpleasant person to deal with." She paused. "Think Gai, but evil."

Sakura winced just trying to wrap that concept around her head. Evil and Gai didn't even seem to fit in the same sentence. "That is... scary."

"I might have regretted his passing, more, if I weren't quite so... deluded, at the time. I can't really feel any sympathy for him, now, though," Anko sighed.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Sakura's mother greeted. Slightly less cheery, she nodded to the other woman. "Anko-san."

"Mom."

"Haruno-san."

"You know," the older Haruno began. "I think this will be the first time I've seen Naruto-san fight since he graduated from the Academy, himself."

"He's good, mom," Sakura answered. "He's... well, he may become the best ninja, ever, if he can just learn to hold his temper in a fight."

"Ah, but he's got a major disadvantage for this tournament," she noted.

"Oh?" Anko interjected. "What are the rules?"

"The three genin have no restrictions -- they can use whatever techniques they possess," Sakura explained. "All participants are required to treat thier opponent as a capture-but-do-not-kill target. The three genin and Naruto will have a mini-tournament, the winner of which gets to face Hana. Naruto is restricted to using basic taijutsu and only the henge, kawarimi, and bushin techniques. If one of the genin wins the tournament, Hana has to use that same restriction." She paused. "Doesn't matter -- Naruto-kun will win. None of the genin can knock him out. Hana might pose a bit of a problem -- I've never seen her fight, and don't know what she can do, but there have only been two people who've ever knocked Naruto-kun out: Orochimaru, back during our chuunin exam." Both she and Anko winced at the memory. "And Sasuke-kun."

"Naruto-san is a taijutsu specialist, isn't he?" Anko-san asked. "At least, that's what his files say."

Sakura grimmaced. "Well, he should be. He got early entry into the Academy because he was that good with taijutsu. He never had any instruction, though -- the 'teachers' never taught him anything, never worked with him, and so... well, he's got some raw skill, but it's underdeveloped. He boosted his speed over the two and a half years of training with Jiraiya-sama--"

"Drop the 'sama,' kid," Anko snorted. "Jiraiya's a good ninja, I'll grant him that, but until he stops being a pervert, he isn't worthy of 'sama.'"

"Jiraiya, then," Sakura laughed. "Naruto-kun calls him 'ero-sennin,' you know. Maybe it fits. Anyway, while we were planning this, Naruto told me half of his victories came from simple things -- basic taijutsu, henge, etc. Sure, the other, bigger, techniques set him up for victory, but often the 'knockout blow' came from something simple. He bested Zabuza with a simple henge and a lot of confusion, once. He beat Gaara of the Sand with first a headbutt, and then a flying kick. Kiba-san was disabled by an accidental, uh, fart. In each case, he admits he had to use better techniques to set it up -- with Zabuza, he needed to use his shadow clones to set up the distraction. With Gaara, he needed a lot of fight and a summoning technique in order to get into position to administer that headbutt. With Kiba, the fart only gave him time to set up a taijutsu combination technique involving his shadow clones. The point is, however, that his advanced techniques were not what won the day -- it was the basic, daily-grind kind of skills that gave him those victories. The more I learn about Naruto, the more I realize he's actually pretty smart -- it's just his bluster and clumsy, noisy presence gives him the mask of stupidity."

Anko laughed. "A bit like me, huh? I had some... bad times, in my life, as you both know. When I got past them, however, I found that -- while I was still a very good ninja -- I couldn't really stand life without being a little showy, which makes people underestimate me. People who don't know me, or at least know of me, assume I'm the weakest jounin in Konoha because of the way I act. In fact, I'm on par with Kakashi-san and Gai-san."

"Hm," was Sakura's only reply, as she tried to smother a comment which might give away the secret she had promised -- reluctantly -- to keep.

"I like that boy as if he were my own child," the older Haruno said, the innuendo barely being restrained in her voice, as she tried to bring them back on topic. "But I've never seen anything which seemed to hint that he was all that smart -- he seems to be about the same level of intelligence as your average ninja."

"He's bad with names, he has a terrible memory sometimes, he's clumsy, and he doesn't understand the word 'subtle,'" Sakura snorted. "But that doesn't mean he isn't smart. I'd say he isn't 'booksmart,' like me, and when faced with a situation that requires book smarts he freezes. Tactically, though? He's a genius. Possibly even Shikamaru's level, just a completely different kind of style. Or maybe not so different -- they both like to bluff a lot. The only difference is Naruto never explains when he's bluffing."

"Bullshit," Anko cried. "I've seen the charts. I like Naruto, I really do, you know that. But let's be realistic, here -- Shikamaru's chuunin exam had everyone evaluate him to be the best tactician of his age in Konoha history. His IQ is off the charts. He beats everyone in shogi and chess. He's... he's just not--"

"I'll make a bet with you," Sakura chirped. "Once we get the messenger service set up, we'll arrange for Naruto and Shikamaru to play a game of chess or something by mail. You can be the go between. If Shikamaru wins, I'll owe you a favor."

"And if you win?" Anko asked, intrigued but nervous at the same time. Would she ask her to reveal the secret?

"The ANBU girl -- Uzuki Yuugao. She's supposed to be teaching me genjutsu, but she's been so anti-social since we got here that I practically have to break down her door to get her to talk to me. I want you to help me get her out of the house enough to at least do a little instruction," Sakura replied.

Anko smirked. That, she could handle... and it might be fun, too. She'd have plenty of time to plan, anyway -- chess by mail would take weeks to play a complete game, and it would be almost a month before such a game could even be proposed to the Nara clan prodigy. This could get... interesting.

* * *

Naruto was a little astonished at the number of people who had come to witness this class, but he took it in stride. He knew just about everyone here, so at least he wasn't leading the class in front of a bunch of strangers -- that would be very awkward. "Okay, we're all ready to go, I think. Everyone knows the rules -- I explained them to you last class. I asked Haruno-san, here, to be the referee, and Sakura-chan will be our medic if anything goes wrong. I think it's safe to say something will go wrong, since we're all ninjas, but please try to keep it something she can handle, okay?" A few laughs of agreement came in answer, but that hardly reassured Naruto. "Right. Haruno-san, could you call the first match?"

"Sure thing," she said, stepping forwards. "First match -- Daichi versus Futaba. Take your places, and... begin."

Inuzuka Hana's team was a rare thing. In Konoha, the number of male ninja's easily outnumbered the number of kunoichi by two to one. On occasion, however, a graduating class didn't quite break along the standard two-to-one line, and a team like Hana's was born: Two girls, one boy. Daichi was the only male on her team, as Hana was (of course) a woman, as well -- which made a team structure like hers even rarer. Apparently, as she hadn't assigned Daichi to face Naruto in the first round, Sakura's mother didn't want to see a boys versus boys, girls versus girls kind of tournament. _Shikamaru,_ Naruto mused,_ would be a bit annoyed._

The fight began rather slowly. They both were trying to circle each other, Gonta staying at Futaba's side. One thing Naruto noticed straight away was that this Inuzuka was a lot more patient then her male cousin. The other was that she didn't seem to want to involve her puppy quite as much, instead displaying a bit of a protective stance over the dog. He wasn't sure whether that was a feint or a weakness. He wasn't the best of observers -- his skill lay in acting fast, not in analyzing and figuring, and he really didn't know what either genin was capable of.

The stalemate was broken by Hana. "Hey, Futaba -- if you win, I'll finally give you those family facial tattoos!" she cheered.

"Really?" Futaba chirped, her face bursting with happiness. She turned her head to split her peripheral vision between her sister and her opponent, her sudden happiness threatening to pull her attention away from the fight. "But I thought the pack leader said I couldn't get them until I became a chu--"

"I don't care what mom said," Hana snapped. "If it makes you fight that much harder to try and get them, then I'll use them as an incentive. She's the one who let Kiba get his before he was even an Academy Student! True, he was the first male of our clan to even be accepted to the Academy in over two decades, but that doesn't matter -- mom shouldn't forbid you to have them when she lets him get them."

"All right!" Futaba cheered, now turning her full attention back to Daichi. With a confident smirk appearing on her face, she taunted, "Come on, little Daichi-kun, let's dance! Tsuuga!"

It wasn't quite as impressive as Kiba's -- after all, he was more experienced, even just the first time Naruto saw it, and he was both larger and stronger then his cousin. It was, however, very fast and very powerful. Daichi just barely managed to dodge it, leaping up in the air.

"Fuuma shuriken!" the boy cried, throwing an oversized windmill-shaped knife at the girl. Futaba reached out to catch it, but a frantic bark from Gonta warned her of the danger in time. She leapt out of the way, herself, dodging both the first blade and the second one hiding in its wake.

"Gonta!" she cried, pulling out some kunai. Throwing the dagger-like shuriken at Daichi, she forced him to dodge himself. The last thing she threw, however, was not a blade but a pill -- a soldier pill, which Gonta swallowed moments before blindsiding the young boy with the dog's own Tsuuga. A loud popping sound was heard.

"I call the match! Medic!" the referee called, gesturing her daughter over right away. "If this were a real tournament, I might let it continue, but for this exhibition I'm not letting anyone fight on a broken leg."

"We broke your leg?" Futaba echoed to Daichi, sounding very embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Daichi-kun. Gonta and I don't know our own strength, sometimes! He was only supposed to tackle you, not break your leg."

Daichi shrugged her off, wincing. "It's all right. I didn't think I could win, anyway -- I'm still working on mastering my family technique, and I know I won't be as good as you or Hanabi-chan until I do. I'll probably still be stuck as a genin, building up my chakra reserves, when the two of you are both jounin."

"I'll teach you some fast chakra generating techniques, if you want, Daichi-san," Sakura said, applying some healing techniques to the boys leg.

"Thanks, ma'am," the boy replied politely, not sure who she was but knowing she outranked him. "I'd appreciate that."

"Come to my genin class next week," she said. "I'll help you out, after class."

"Um, do I have to be there at the start of your class?" he asked. "I've got a part-time job delivering the evening newspaper, and I might not be able to make it in time."

Sakura nodded, although she wasn't too happy about it. She was going to be teaching her class a chuunin-level chakra generating technique next session, and she wasn't thrilled about having to go over it twice. Still, she didn't want to pull the guy out of work just for her own convenience sake. "As long as you're there before class is over. I won't wait if you're not there."

"When can I get my tattoos, huh? Huh, Hana-nii-chan? Huh?"

"Calm down," Hana huffed. "Remember, you have to call me Hana-sensei when we're on business, Futaba-chan. I'll personally give you your tattoo over the weekend, assuming we aren't called away on a mission or something. Got it?"

"Next match," Sakura's mother called over the ruckus as Sakura helped Daichi off the field. "Naruto versus Hanabi."

Naruto and Hanabi stood, facing off against each other. Hanabi's back was ramrod straight, her knee bent and her feet at fourty-five degree angles. Her arms were up in a guard position, but she didn't seem ready for attack.

"I saw your fight with Neji-san."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Your sister calls him 'ni-san.' Even after he half-killed her. Why don't you do the same?"

The girl looked absolutely disgusted. "A Branch family member? I know she is weak, but that is revolting. Naruto-san, Neji-san may be stronger then I am... but I will beat you. Without your 'kage bushin,' you have no chance against a Hyuuga."

"Funny," Naruto smirked. "Neji thought that I didn't have a chance, even with my techniques... and that was before he even knew anything about how I fought. You complain because Hinata seems 'weak' for calling your cousin 'ni-san,' eh? It seems to me that Hinata-san is the only one of your entire blessed clan who knows anything about being nice without having to have that niceness beaten out of them. I guess I have to start on you, now."

Hanabi huffed. "The Hyuuga clan is the strongest, most powerful clan in all of Konoha! We have traditions which date back to before the founding of Konoha, we have techniques the likes of which you could never understand, we have more power then-- oof!"

"You talk too much," Naruto pointed out, pulling his fist from her gut, where she'd been doubled over. "Neji did, too. He got me good and angry, so I wouldn't give up. He had a real problem, though, which could explain why he was so ticked off at the world. What do you have? Arrogance?" He followed that with a chop to the back of the girl's head, knocking her out.

In the audience, there were several gasps -- mostly from those born in Konoha, knowing the Hyuuga as the most powerful clan around. Hanabi was rumored to potentially be the equal of Neji, the strongest Hyuuga ever born to the branch family... but Naruto, in less then a second, had knocked her out with nothing more than two quick, nameless taijutsu moves. Furthermore, the contempt he showed for the oldest and greatest clan in all of Konoha was... astonishing. On certain faces, though, there was something in addition to the astonishment. On Sakura's, there was pride and -- just maybe -- a little bit of love. On Anko's were the same, although a different kind of pride and a different sort of love. On the face of Kakashi, nothing was ever displayed... although perhaps a little smirk would have been visible if he wasn't wearing his mask. On Jiraiya... well, Jiraiya was bored. This was everyday stuff, for him.

The older of the two Haruno women was in the 'too astonished to let any other emotions show' category -- she had never seen Naruto fight, after all, so something like this startled her. Still, she had a job to do. "Er... winner, Naruto-san. Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinked. "Oh, right!" She leapt into action, sending a cute smile Naruto's way as she passed him to attend the fallen genin. She also shot a reassuring look to Inuzuka Futaba, hoping to help the girl know that Naruto was not going to treat her the same way -- provided she didn't make him too mad, that was.

Futaba wasn't exactly comforted. "Hana-ni-- I mean, Hana-sensei," she said, voice trembling. "I... I don't think I can fight against that."

Hana hesitated. She did, in fact, know who Naruto was containing -- she was only a child when the kyuubi attacked, but she was old enough to remember. She also knew who Naruto was -- she had seen all the files, and talked with Kiba about him before the left. She also knew that he was a favorite of the hokage, a student of Jiraiya the (admittedly perverted, but still brilliant) legendary sannin, and apparently one of the heroes of the very country they had established Blossom in. From all that, she figured he wasn't as bad as his reputation made him out to be.

"He's a good fighter," Hana said finally. "Kiba respects him, and you know how little respect my little brother shows for anyone."

"But... that's my point," Futaba replied, trembling. "He'll tear me apart -- Hanabi-chan is so much stronger then I am, and he beat her in seconds!"

Hana hesitated. "Remember, he's holding this tournament for his class," she pointed out. "He's not going to beat all of us so fast that they don't learn anything from it, now is he?"

"I... I guess not."

"And who knows, Futaba-chan," Hana said, smiling. "You might surprise him."

* * *

On the other side of the room, Sakura had dragged Naruto away, carrying Hanabi with her. "Dammit, Naruto -- you really impressed everyone with your fight, but did you have to hurt her so much? You cracked this girl's ribs. I mended them with my ninjitsu, but she'll have to stay out of action for at least a week for them to fully heal."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I was just... she got to me, sorry. She needed to be taught a lesson, but maybe I took it a bit too far."

Sakura sighed. "Well, Jiraiya does always say that your biggest weakness is your temper. Don't let it get out of hand with this next girl, okay? Try to play nice with her."

He squinted in thought, nodding his head as he came to a decision. "Sakura-chan... what if I tried to lose the next fight?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked.

"I told you that Kiba wants me to help his sister out with her confidence," Naruto explained. "How would it be helping her confidence for a chuunin who is forbidden from using any advanced jutsu to beat her? I'm going to have to throw one of these two fights, or else I'll be breaking my promise to Kiba."

Sakura blinked. "Naruto, she's a jounin. She'll know if you throw the fight. Think of what that'll do to her -- knowing that you wouldn't fight her because you were too afraid of embarrassing her. Besides, aren't you doing this just to prove something to your class? Something like, even if all you've got are the basics, you, too, can be as good as a jounin? Do you really think this class will get that if you're out of the fight before you can face off against a jounin?"

Naruto's face fell. "You're right. I... I don't know what to do -- I can't win or I break my promise, and I can't lose or I'll ruin my class."

Sakura's lips twitched. "Well, then... if you can't win, and you can't lose, there's only one alternative."

* * *

"The medical treatment is done," Haruno-san announced. "So the break is over. Next match -- Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Futaba. Ready?"

Futaba was visibly trembling as she looked across at Naruto. "Please don't kill me," she whimpered.

Naruto looked at her, confused. "Kill you? Huh?"

""I... I... Hanabi-chan is so much stronger then I am. If you did to me what you did to her, then... I don't think I could live!" Futaba wept.

Naruto twitched. "Um, are you just acting, or do you really think I'm going to try and kill you?"

The Inuzuka girl stopped, then smiled. "I suppose I was overacting a bit, wasn't I?"

"It was pretty easy to tell," Naruto pointed out.

"I suppose," Futaba admitted. "I really am worried about getting hurt, though..."

Naruto grinned. "Sakura-chan'll patch you up if I do, but I'll try not to. You don't seem to be trying your best to say everything that might get me mad, like the Hyuuga girl just did. So let's just fight -- let me see how ready you are for the chuunin exam."

Futaba blinked. "I... I'm a rookie."

"So? I was a rookie at the chuunin exam, too."

She gaped at him. "But your class was special -- there's never been nine rookies who all took the exam at the same time before or since. Rookies almost never make it into the exam!"

Naruto shrugged. "So? Don't give up on it. Never give up, or else you'll lose before you get started. Now, are you ready to spar?"

Futaba blinked. "Um... spar? I guess this is kind of sparring, isn't it? Yeah, sure, I'm willing to spar."

"Glad to hear it," Sakura's mother snorted. "You two sure like to talk a lot before starting a match, don't you? Anyway, since you're both ready, you can start whenever you want."

They both stood, looking at each other in the eyes, trying to determine when the other would attack. Naruto, seemingly getting impatient, gave her a quick wink, and then charged in. Futaba dodged back, throwing kunai to cover her retreat. Those kunai, however, passed completely through Naruto, landing somewhere behind him. A bushin! she realized, before she felt a quick elbow tag her in the back. It wasn't painfully hard, but it was powerful enough to knock her onto all fours -- a position she was used to fighting from when using a beast mimicry technique, but not one she was ready for. She heard a technique being called behind him.

"Secret move! Konohagakura furui taijutsu suukoujutsu: Itami no sennen!"

Jaws dropped around the amphitheatre as Naruto administered the thousand years of pain technique... using a wooden dagger, but still targetted right in the middle of Futaba's rear end.

"Pervert!" she screamed, leaping upwards. Naruto looked completely bewildered as she spun around, delivering a powerful roundhouse at his head. He just barely dodged, but he was obviously confused.

"But... it's always worked before!" Naruto replied, startled.

"Naruto! That technique doesn't work right on girls!" Kakashi cried from the stands.

Naruto spun around. "Now you tell me! Geez, next time, let me know if a technique you teach me has a weakness like that!"

Futaba was blinking as his attention was diverted elsewhere. "That was... a real technique?"

Naruto turned to glare at her. "Hell, yeah! Attach an explosive tag to a dagger, use that technique, and you can do a lot of damage!"

Sakura, looking faintly embarrassed, reluctantly came to her boyfriends defense. "He used it quite effectively in his battle with Gaara of the Sand, back during the Sand-Sound War, according to witnesses."

That shut up a lot of the murmuring crowd and restrained laughter. Any move which was effective against the legend that was Gaara -- despite his defeat at the hands of the Akatsuki -- should not be ridiculed... however silly or perverted it seemed.

Futaba was a little less homocidal, but still angry. "I don't care about that. Before, this was a friendly spar. Now, though... I want revenge. Tsuuga!"

The drill-like rotation which she employed came flying at Naruto at high speed. Had he still been as slow as he had when he faced Kiba, he would probably have been in serious trouble... but, since he'd worked on improving his speed over the course of two and a half years, he was just able to dodge the attack... although he lost a sleeve on his shirt. He quickly realized that, instead of causing the same slightly disabling nerve pinch which the painful 'enema,' as Pakkun had called it, normally caused, he'd just gotten the dog girl angry. He knew he didn't have any more time to play, he just had to put her down. Thankfully, she had yet to bring Gonta into the fight... and, apparently, she was now too angry to do so. He'd just have to stop her before she calmed down enough to remember her dog.

Out of site, he made a few quick seals. At her next pass, Futaba seemed to hit him... but instead, found herself hitting a wooden desk. "A kawarimi!" several people gasped.

She started looking around, desperate to find where he had gone to... which proved to be her undoing, as it turned out that it wasn't a substitution at all, but a henge. With a pop, the 'desk' turned into a slightly bruised Naruto, who quickly snapped out with a fist to her jaw. He moved much too fast for her to react, and the blow sent her flying. By the time she landed, she was already unconscious.

"Winner, Naruto," Haruno finally said, once she was sure of her conclusion.

* * *

"Naruto-kun," Sakura said sweetly, her healing hands working on Naruto's bruised ribs. The blow he had been willing to take in order to complete his final attack would have crippled many people, but not him. He had managed to prepare for the blow -- for the most part -- and his skin, after years of training, had hardened up to the point that he could take powerful blows without serious wounds. He still had suffered a lot of damage, but between his own healing abilities and Sakura's skills, he would be fine for the next battle in no time.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"A word of warning," she said. "You might want to add that thousand years of pain technique to your list of kinjutsu... because if I ever catch you using it on a girl, again -- I don't care what her age -- I'm going to kill you. The only reason I'm healing you right now is that the girl's not really old enough for you, yet -- if it had been Hana you tried that on... well, let's just say medical ninjitsu can do things other than heal. You might not even be entirely a man, right now."

"Entirely a... um, Sakura-chan? Make that, Sakura-sama? Please... I'm sorry? I really didn't know it was like that for girls!" he protested. "I didn't even think about it, so--"

"Never mind, Naruto -- I know that," Sakura sighed, wondering just when she had become so forgiving of him. Even a week ago, she'd probably have dumped him for trying such a technique, despite his own ignorance. "But now you know what to look forward to if you ever try that technique... okay?"

"Uh, right, Sakura-chan. The thousand years of pain is now a kinjutsu... got it."

* * *

"I still can't believe he did that!" Futaba growled. She wasn't getting any sympathy from Gonta -- who seemed more amused then anything else -- but her cousin was another story.

"Niether can I," Hana agreed, her voice rumbling with anger.

An embarrassed cough from behind them attracted their attention. There, Kakashi stood, a rather ticked off looking Anko standing beside him. "Um... I'm afraid it's partly my fault," their jounin-oyabun said.

All three girls glared at him. "How so?" Hana asked.

"During Naruto's bell test, I performed that technique on him," Kakashi explained. "It is, um, quite effective against males. There is a nerve that can be pinched in males only by the application of that technique... but, um, the biology of females locates that particular nerve... too deep to be reached. I never really taught him the technique, but just having it used on you will teach you how it is performed. Just not its strengths and weaknesses."

"And just how did you learn of this?" Hana demanded, refusing to relent.

"Because the Fourth, who developed the damn technique, tried using it on _me,_ once!" Anko snarled. "And I made him promise not to ever use that technique on a woman, ever again. I _thought_ I had convinced him to make it a kinjutsu, not to be taught to anyone, but apparently I was mistaken."

Futaba had an odd look on her face. "It works on males, though, huh?"

"Don't even think about it, Futaba-chan," Hana woofed in a dog-like admonishment.

"Think about what, Hana-ni-chan?" Futaba chirped innocently.

* * *

For the first time ever, Sakura's mother was having a few doubts about Naruto's suitability as a paramour for her daughter. Not many -- Sakura's own explanation about his use of that particular technique in battle with Gaara convinced her that he hadn't used it just because he was a pervert -- but she was starting to wonder if his hanging around with the celebrated erotic novelist and admitted pervert, Jiraiya, _and_ the man known to read those novels in public, Kakashi, had perhaps warped him in ways that she would not approve. She made a mental note to 'talk' with the two men about their influence on the boy.

"Well... time for the final match. Inuzuka Hana, are you ready?"

The older of the two dog-wielding ninjas grinned sharply, showing a couple fangs. "I accept that Naruto's insult of my cousin was unintentional, but I am more than ready to avenge her loss, anyway."

"Uzumaki Naruto, are _you_ ready?"

Sakura was still checking him out when she asked. After a moment of checking out his bruise, she nodded to him. He turned around and smiled. "Sure, sure. Sakura-chan says I'm fine, so I'll be able to go at one hundred percent."

"Then begin," Haruno-san announced.

Hana grinned darkly at the youngster facing her. "You know, Naruto, I'm aware you've faced a couple of my clan members. I bet you think you've seen what our family can do."

"I have an inkling," Naruto agreed. "I imagine that a jounin like you might have another trick or two up your sleeve, but I think I've got a handle on your family style. Each of you is a bit different, though -- Kiba's more agressive, Futaba's less likely to involve her dog, you... well, I don't know about you, yet, do I?"

"I tend to involve my dogs more then Futaba does," Hana admitted. "Possibly even more then Kiba does, although he's kind of obsessed with Akamaru even more then most of our clan is with our puppies. The thing is, though, that both Gonta and Akamaru have been... undertrained, really, for true combat. In order for them to fight, they really need those soldier pills to get the necessary strength and power to be truly effective. My dogs, however," she gestured, allowing her three dogs to take positions around the boy, "Don't need any 'help' in order to fight."

"And you have three of them, whereas Kiba and Futaba only have one," Naruto noted.

"Oh... I have more than three." She bit her thumb, making seals faster then anyone could track, then declared, "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" The summoning technique did not react as Naruto knew it, pulling out only one ninja animal from wherever they waited to be summoned into the world. Instead, it summoned a whole pack -- five very large wolf-like dogs and one... well, gigantic dog, the size of a horse, upon which Hana rode. "Training only, boys, so don't kill him!" she called to her dogs. "But hard training, so don't be afraid to hurt him, either. Gatsuuga!"

With eight large dogs attacking him at once, all so fast that they almost couldn't be seen, Naruto was hard pressed to dodge. He was only thankful that Hana and her mount weren't attacking, as well, or else he'd be completely unable to continue, already. He didn't want to lose, so he had to do something, but he was unsure of exactly what he _could_ do. Each single dog was ten times worse then anything he'd ever seen Kiba and Akamaru manage, together, and that was without a single soldier pill -- his speed at forming seals was now fast enough he could perform them before any of these dogs could hit him, but he was restricted to using techniques which weren't exactly suited for combatting animals with such keen senses of smell. He longed for just a simple kage bushin, but he had to make do.

_Maybe I've got a tool or something that will help,_ he thought, mentally going through a checklist of his equipment. _What all have I got? A few dummy kunai -- I really should have switched to the real kunai once I quit playing with the genin, shouldn't I have? Some blank scrolls -- which are, of course, utterly useless. A few lengths of twine -- which I should have replaced with wire before entering into combat with a jounin. Assorted dummy shuriken -- sheesh, why didn't I think about the fact this puppy lady was a jounin and not a genin? A few soldier pills -- which I was planning to save for Hana's team after the duels... and which wouldn't exactly be helpful here, anyway, since I'm not even low on chakra. Some soap, which I'm going to use in the showers afterwards -- don't want to track mud into my apartment, after all. Wait a minute... hmm. But where would I get the water?_

He continued dodging frantically, glancing around the room for some source of liquid. He was just about to give up when he saw it -- the bottle of sake, all but it's neck hidden, sticking out of Jiraiya's pack where he sat in the stands. The old pervert, himself, was asleep -- which annoyed his student quite significantly. Still, the opportunity was there, and the target was perfect. Time to make his move.

Pushing as much chakra into his legs as he could, he jumped out of the center of the gatsuuga and ran for his master. "Ero-sennin!" he called.

Jiraiya blinked awake. "Huh? Ack!" With the reflexes developed over the course of some fifty years of ninja training, the old pervert managed to stumble over the bench in front of him, rolling down the amphitheatre steps to land face-first on the stage floor. Not exactly unharmed, but out of the way.

"Thanks for the sake!" Naruto cried, pulling the bottle out of the older ninja's bag as he passed.

"That's expensive stuff!" Jiraiya cried. "And you aren't allowed to drink it."

Naruto rebounded off the wall at the top of the steps, backflipping to land in the center of the stage again. "Not going to drink it," he answered, popping the bottle open with a savage bite of his teeth. "And you can just deduct the cost of this bottle from the thousands of ryou you've stolen from me over the years."

He pulled the soap out of his equipment pack. It was a gel soap designed for travel, and needed diluting in order to be useful for anything. Naruto started pouring it into the sake.

"What are you doing! That's good sake you're ruining!"

"Shut up, old man," Naruto snapped, trying to keep from spilling anything as he poured the soap and dodged the attacking dogs at the same time. He was burning lots of chakra to keep it up, but that was okay -- he had a near infinite amount to spare, anyway. He emptied the bottle of soap and tossed it away. He capped the sake with his thumb and shook it, mixing the soap in quite effectively considering the speed at which he was moving.

"No! My good sake!" Jiraiya wept.

"I said... shut _up, _old man!" Naruto cried. Spinning on his right ankle, she started spraying the soapy alcohol all around him, coating the floor in the now slick substance.

The gatsuuga made the dogs look like they were flying, but they weren't. In fact, they had to take a step every few seconds to keep their spin up, so it was rather like they were jumping and rotating at the same time. That was why, as each dog started to pass over the slick surface, they started slipping out of control. In rapid succession, all eight dogs went crashing into the walls, each emitting its own yelp of disbelief as it lost its balance. Five of the dogs disappeared into puffs of smoke, and the other three looked too stunned to do much.

Hana looked quite startled. Deciding that she had to do something else, she started to call out her next technique. "Juujin bu-"

"Stop!" Naruto cried, holding his hand up, before she could complete the man-beast mimicry techniques. "Puppy girl, I think we should call this one a draw."

Hana's left eye twitched. "_Puppy_ girl?"

"Okay, puppy lady, then. I guess your cousin would be puppy girl," Naruto corrected cheekily.

"Hey!" Futaba protested from the side.

"Anyway," Naruto continued, ignoring the younger Inuzuka girl. "I think this one is a draw. I can't attack you from here, and you can't attack me from there... unless you've got some sort of secret ranged technique better than, say, the kage shuriken no jutsu using a fuuma shuriken, which is the best I can manage from here with my current restrictions. You can't close in, unless you want to try besting me in taijutsu while trying to walk on my soapy floor, which you know would give me a pretty good advantage. Give us enough time, and try hard enough, and one of us can win -- I could always outwait you, since I've got more stamina then you do... and you aren't the only one to have some soldier pills. You could always try waiting until I run out of soap for the floor. But this is just a demonstration for some students, not a real battle. It isn't worth it, is it?"

Hana paused, considering his words. The battle would be far from over in a real situation, as she was fairly certain the both of them had rather impressive techniques to use, still. However, she didn't think there was much reason behind continuing -- this was just a demonstration for some Academy students, after all. Still, she wanted to win, just to avenge her sister... and maybe there was a way. "You're right -- my beast mimicry doesn't give me anything in this scenario. I've got a technique which might work, though... if it doesn't, I suppose I'll agree to a draw if you want. Okay?"

Naruto grinned dangerously. "Give it your best shot."

"I will," she snorted, then pulled out a kunai. She crossed to the edge of the slick floor Naruto had created, and even took a couple steps into it. Naruto started to fall into a defensive stance, wondering if she was planning on the taijutsu challenge, after all. She came to a complete stop well out of hand-to-hand range, though. Much to everyone's surprise, she cut her own palm, and then flicked some blood over onto Naruto.

"Ack! Hey, what--"

She pulled out a scroll and waved it around, making a few seals as she did. "Ninpo Kuchiyose -- Doton Tsuiganu Jutsu!"

Naruto had heard that technique before, although only once. He knew how it worked, however, and knew he was in trouble. "Uh oh..." He concentrated as much chakra into his legs as he could and leapt up into the air. As he left the ground, a dozen dogs broke through the earth and tried to bite him. He flipped, remolding the chakra as he went, and landed on the cieling. The dogs from the summoning couldn't catch him, but Hana's large mount -- which she was no longer riding -- attacked him with a tsuuga. He dodged, though just barely, and recieved a claw scratch on his back as he went. The wound would normally not be so serious as to hamper his fighting ability, but because he was upside down the blood itself was presenting a problem, trickling down onto his head, into his ears, and so forth. He needed to get to the ground, but the dogs were following him, waiting to attack the moment he got close enough. The big dog was still attacking, and Hana was wiping off her sandals preparing to join it. If his techniques were unrestricted, he'd easily be able to get out of the situation, but he wasn't sure how to get out of it without moves he wasn't allowed to use. He needed to figure out a way to delay the inevitable long enough to come up with something else. He watched a drop of his blood fall to the floor... and had an idea.

Suddenly, four different Narutos leapt down from the roof in four different directions. The dogs all looked confused at first -- their noses couldn't tell which one was which, since his smell of blood was so strong with all four of them. Then, they figured it out, and started running... but it was too late. He'd already uncorked the soapy sake and put down a fresh layer of slick surface, and once again the dogs went skidding.

Hana, with a weak gesture, dispelled all the dogs -- including the big one still on the roof -- and sighed. "You still want a draw?"

Naruto grinned. "Draw... but only because I think it would take way too long for us to resolve this in any other way."

"Tie. No-one wins," Haruno announced.

Naruto turned to his class. "I'll warn you right now -- I cheated. There's no way I could have done all that with just those three techniques... not as a genin just graduated from the Academy, anyway. I've got more chakra then just about anyone else alive, right now, and I was using it extensively. I had to delve into the basics of what Sakura is going to be teaching you -- control and molding. I used chakra to cling to the cieling, chakra to make myself faster and stronger, and chakra to guide that last technique -- three bushins, each with a wooden dagger drenched in my own blood to confuse the dogs' noses. I also have a special ability -- a developing bloodline trait for rapid healing, so I'm not bleeding much any more. That kept me from losing so much blood that I got dizzy during the end of the fight. The puppy lady really pushed me, there, and to be honest... even if I had access to all of my techniques, I'd have a hard time beating her. However... the demonstration was more to show you that yes, these techniques are effective... and I think that was proved. Does anyone still believe that these basic techniques are 'useless,' any more?" When no-one raised their hand, he nodded. "Good. Class dismissed. Next time, we'll go back to learning the henge."

The class slowly migrated out, but a few people stayed behind. Sakura did, of course, and immediately ran over to treat the wound on his back -- he wasn't exactly lying when he said it wasn't bleeding 'much,' compared to how bad he had been, but it was still serious enough a wound to worry her. Kakashi stayed, as well, and quickly went over to Naruto to explain, better, the strengths and weaknesses of the Thousand Years of Pain -- if he'd even known that Naruto had adopted the technique, he'd have talked with him about it long ago... but, as he hadn't even realized Naruto learned the technique, he wasn't aware he had needed to explain anything.

Two of the others who remained were the Inuzuka pair. Hana was staring over at Naruto, a haunted expression on her face, and Futaba was watching her.

"Hana-ni-chan, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm out of chakra," Hana replied. "Well, not quite, but I don't have enough left to fight with. I was bluffing -- he'd won."

Futaba blinked. "Wow. He's good."

Hana sighed. "Yes, but... I have to wonder. Naruto's only a chuunin, and there's no way I can beat him. He wasn't even allowed to use any ninja techniques outside of the basic three that all Konoha nin know -- well, except for the Aburame who have no chakra and Hanabi-chan, who didn't deem it necessarily to learn anything but the bushin since she felt her own family techniques were so superior. Which makes me wonder... do I even deserve this promotion to jounin?"

"Hell yes, you do," came a voice behind her. The two girls spun around to find Jiraiya standing a respectful distance away, a serious look on his face. "You pushed him. That's impressive."

"But he's a chuunin!" Hana spat, frustrated with herself.

"He's my apprentice, and he has an infinite supply of chakra. The only reason he's still a chuunin is because you can't skip a rank, and his only opportunity to be promoted from genin until right before we left on this mission was... interrupted by the Sand-Sound war." Jiraiya laughed nervously. "And, um, I trained him to be better then me."

Futaba was suitably awed, but Hana was horrified. "Are you sure you can trust him with that much power?"

Jiraiya's humor slipped a notch. "Damned straight, I do -- you just need to get to know him to understand why." He glanced at Futaba. "But we should not discuss this in present company."

Hana nodded. "Perhaps not. And perhaps I shouldn't be so critical of him -- Kiba likes him, after all, and while I don't particularly think much of my brother's intelligence, I do believe he wouldn't be so loyal to someone who doesn't deserve it. Still... I was promoted to jounin by an administrative test. I have to wonder... do I deserve this rank as a combat specialist?"

Jiraiya smirked. "Well, I could always train you, if you want."

Hana gave him a dark look. "I wouldn't trust you as my master."

"Come on -- I only go peeping like that for research. I always need new material for my books," Jiraiya protested.

"How about you suggest another master?" she asked, ignoring his reply. "Because I think that's a good idea, but not with you."

"Master? Nope, no other good masters in this village who'd be able to help you," Jiraiya explained. "But... if he can work it into his schedule, Naruto might be a good person to train with. He knows a lot of techniques he could teach you, but needs a good sparring partner to work on them with... and it would let you get to know him better."

Hana considered that. She still wasn't sure she trusted the boy, but... Kiba did. And he obviously was good -- better then Hana thought possible for a chuunin. Perhaps... perhaps she should actually do it -- it wasn't like she had very many other options for sparring partners in town. "You know... that might not be a bad idea."

* * *

Notes: So I didn't make it in one day, but three. I got sick (still am, slightly), and so couldn't work quite as much on the fic as usual for a couple days (plus I had other things occupying my time in real life, as well). I hope that the fact it's almost double-length makes up for that. The next chapter is a bit of a surprise, so I won't spoil it too much. I'll just say that Shikamaru and Naruto start their chess match... (and it will be standard chess, since I don't understand the rules of shogi enough to make a convincing strategy for it. Purists will have to convert the strategies mentioned into similar shogi strategies on their own) That is only a small part of what happens, however. (Next chapter may be double-length as well, so don't be surprised if it takes more than a day, too) 


	25. V3 Chapter 15

Volume 3

Notes: Apparently, there was a little confusion. Jiraiya said he'd trained Naruto to be better then him. That was, indeed, a confirmation that Naruto (at least in my fic) has surpassed Jiraiya, not a contradiction of it. Not sure why that wasn't clear, but there you go.

To reply to a late comment for the previous chapter, Anko not being in Konoha on the day of the kyuubi is untrue. Everyone believed she was out of town that day, however -- she was just in hiding... in the home of the Fourth, because she was forbidden from marrying him and so they had to keep their affair secret. Not really a spoiler, just pointing out something for a little 'between the line' reading that some may have missed. I may or may not emphasize that later in the story.

As far as the kunai in the bushins go -- yes, I know they aren't substantial. That was WHY the kunai was with them. The kunai were thrown to give the odd blood sent and the bushins were created 'around' the kunai. They were not HOLDING the kunai. If the bushin could have held anything, then there was no need for the bloody kunai in the first place -- the bushins themselves would have just been smeared with blood. I meant to mention that it was Naruto's chakra guiding the kunai, so I figured that people would have realized that. I realize now that -- due to a poor editing job where I was trying to combine two sentences into one -- that wasn't clear -- it sounds like his chakra was guiding the bushin holding the kunai, but that wasn't what I meant. I don't think I'll go back and fix that one, though -- Naruto's words, even as they are, do not contradict what I just said. They're just not as good at explaining it to the readers as I'd like, now that I've thought about it some. Instead of fixing that, I'm going to work on finishing this as fast as possible.

And I'm sorry about the 'nee-chan' 'nii-chan' thing. I'm always getting those two backwards... sigh I'll try to remember in the future.

Someone asked me about Hanabi's characterization in this fic. Not much is seen of her in canon, but she does appear to be shocked upon hearing that Neji is better then her sister. Given the attitude of the 'Main Branch' as relayed by Neji, I'm assuming she's a big proponent of the 'Hyuuga sense of superiority and main branch sense of even greater superiority' clan philosophy. There's also the 'Hinata is too gentle' bit, so I'm assuming as a clan they're a bit... aggressive. So, after a few years of aging, she's become 'the ultimate Hyuuga' in character -- without the sense of personal responsibility her father has which makes him a 'harsh but still occasionally decent' man. However, given the events of the tournament, she may just as easily turn into a better, stronger Hinata... but for story reasons, I chose to portray her the way I have, since I think that's a definite possibility for how her character will act.

By the way, don't stop pointing out mistakes -- that's fine. But, if the chapter has been out for a few hours or so, please check and make sure another reviewer hasn't already mentioned it. Being told a few times about the same mistake isn't a bad thing; being told about one mistake in thirty out of fourty reviews for a single chapter gets to be a bit overkill.

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 15

"Asuma-san," Sakura said, approaching the man. She had just been heading out for lunch when she spied the man sitting in a cafe, eating odango, when an idea came to her.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," the friendly jounin said, waving at her. "What can I do for you?"

"Glad you asked that," Sakura said. "Asuma-san... I'd like you to teach Naruto-kun chess for me, please."

Asuma blinked. "Naruto? Chess? Why in the world do you think Naruto should learn chess -- isn't that the kind of game that would be a bit, um, out of his league?"

"No," Sakura said sharply. "But as to why... I made a bet."

"With Naruto?" Asuma asked, scratching his head.

"With Anko-sensei. I bet that Naruto-kun could beat Shikamaru in a chess match."

Asuma froze at that. "Okay. Let's break that down a bit. Did you just say you made a bet with Anko-san?"

"Yes," Sakura confirmed, nodding.

"Er, you may not know this, but Anko almost never loses a bet. No, I take that back -- she's _never_ lost a bet. That's problem one, there. Now, was this bet _actually_ that you thought Naruto could beat Shikamaru in chess?"

Smirking slightly, Sakura nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

Asuma looked at his unfinished dango and sighed. "I'd better get to work. If Naruto wants to understand the strategy of chess, then--"

"No!" Sakura protested sharply. "Don't tell him a thing about strategy. It'll just screw him up. Only teach him how the pieces move and things like that, got it?"

Asuma looked at the girl in front of him with something resembling shock. He had always thought _this_ one was sane -- was he, perhaps, mistaken? Or was she finally starting to crack under all the stress she'd been put under since moving to Blossom. After all, it couldn't be easy taking charge of a ninja hospital, nor could it be easy dating the kyuubi boy. She was bound to start crumbling under the pressure at some point.

"That... wouldn't really be a good idea," he explained, as if to a small child. "See, chess is a very complex game, and anyone who masters it -- like Shikamaru has -- will automatically know what you're doing depending on how you move. The only way to beat something like that is to know how to predict what your opponent is doing, so--"

"Or," Sakura interrupted. "To be Naruto. The number one ninja in surprising people, as Kakashi puts it. To be... unpredictable."

"Against someone like Shikamaru, there's no way--"

"Asuma-san?" Sakura sighed. "Please, just do as I say. You really don't know Naruto as well as I do -- he will win. Trust me."

Asuma still looked dubious, but it appeared there was no shaking this girl's resolve. "Very well, Sakura-chan. I'll do it... after I finish my dango."

_

* * *

Well, now at least he'll know how to play, Sakura was thinking to herself as she cooked dinner. __But if what Asuma-san said is true, then Anko has the same 'lucky' gambling ability that Naruto has. Hmm, is that a bloodline ability or something? Ah, well. I'll need something to counteract the 'bet' part of it with Anko. That would mean a bet with Naruto, wouldn't it? But what could I bet him with -- I don't want to keep making bets over our dating, after all. That would get tedious, after a while._Sakura was thinking to herself as she cooked dinner. 

A loud thump indicated Ino had returned -- finally -- from her trip acting as the Blossom liason to the Wave government. Sakura considered what she had in the pot, and decided she'd need to either add more broth and noodles, or to just leave the other girl to her own devices. The moment she saw the road-weary Ino slump into the kitchen, she started pulling out more noodles.

"Long trip?" Sakura asked.

"Long and boring," Ino sighed, walking over to the refridgerator to pull out a single-serving sized bottle of her flavored milks (the Naruto psyche inside her loved milk, but she wasn't too happy with it herself. The result was she wound up drinking a lot of strawberry and chocolate flavored milk... which she was rather embarrassed about, since it made her feel rather child-like). Uncapping the top, she started chugging the beverage down. Finishing in under twenty seconds, she tossed the bottle into the trash with a sigh. "I hate my job, here. How was the tournament?"

"Interesting," Sakura snorted. "Um, if you ever had any aspirations about using the 'thousand years of pain' technique of Naruto's, you might want to remember it doesn't work on girls."

Ino's eye twitched as she recalled that move. "Wait... I know that one. Which girl did he use it on?"

"The younger Inuzuka," Sakura chuckled. "Poor guy -- I think he took me seriously when I threatened to castrate him if he'd done it to Hana."

Ino laughed. "He might, he might not... but I doubt he's willing to take the chance."

"I think he's learned not to try it on another girl, anyway," Sakura snorted. "Although I'm afraid Futaba-chan's getting 'ideas' now that Naruto's demonstrated it on her."

"You afraid of a little puppy girl moving in on your territory?" Ino asked.

Sakura twitched. "Was that you or the Naruto inside you who called her 'puppy girl?' Oh, and I didn't mean it like that... I'm afraid she's going to try to use the technique on the boys..."

"Hmm... you know, I'm not sure?" Ino mused. "Why?"

"Naruto was calling both Inuzuka's 'puppy girl' during the tournament."

"Well, he's bad with names," Ino pointed out. "Puppy girl, though... I'd be a bit worried if I were you. Sounds like a term of endearment..."

Sakura snorted. "Naruto-kun's too loyal to be seduced by a genin... and Hana's a bit too old for him, I think."

"Naruto's too loyal for Hana, too," Ino pointed out.

"You _have_ seen her, right? _No-one_ is too loyal for Hana," Sakura snorted. "I don't think there's a woman alive who could compete for the guy she eventually sets her sights on."

Ino laughed again. "Naruto might look -- he's loyal, not dead, and even _I _think Hana's the best looking woman in Konoha. If I recall correctly, she was voted 'most seductive kunoichi' in her courtesan training class a couple years ago, and she was able to get herself pulled out of that class in only a couple months by making her veterinary degree official... so I bet she could get him to look even if he didn't want to. He wouldn't touch, though -- he's really that loyal."

Sakura sighed. "Some days, I almost wish he wasn't... it makes me feel a bit guilty."

"Guilty? Why--"

_Oops -- I shouldn't have said anything,_ Sakura thought. "Actually, that reminds me. I want to make a bet with Naruto-kun, but I'm not sure what to bet him. He wouldn't care about money, and I'm not going to make all of our dates be because of gambling debts. Have you got any ideas?"

"Maybe," Ino said, shrugging. "I've got a good idea of what kinds of things he wants, although I'll warn you that -- in some cases -- his tastes may have changed in the two and a half years since I captured his psyche. But why do you want to make a bet with him? You want to play another round of poker or something?"

"No," Sakura sighed. "I made a bet with Anko-san that Naruto-kun would win a chess match against Shikamaru, and I've heard--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ino interrupted, astonished. "You think Naruto would beat Shikamaru in a chess match?"

"If he's motivated enough, yes."

Ino shook her head. "Sakura-chan... you know I respect Naruto-dono more than most, for obvious reasons. I definitely think that his tactical mind and intelligence are severely underrated, and that everyone underestimates him. I don't intend to ever underestimate him, either, so normally I wouldn't say anything like this, but... Naruto doesn't have a chance. I know Shikamaru all too well, and I won't underestimate _him, _either -- and there isn't anyone better at chess then Shikamaru."

"A couple of years ago, maybe not," Sakura admitted. "But... I think maturity has helped him there, too. I could be wrong... but I'd like to help him have a chance, so I'd like to make a bet with him over it."

Ino shook her head. "You're alone in thinking he's got a chance, I'm afraid, but if you want to bet him something he'll really go for, I've got an idea..."

* * *

It had been a few days since Ino had made her suggestion, and Sakura was still blushing every time she thought about it. She'd considered making the bet with him seven times, but each time she chickened out right before she was going to talk with him about it. It was over a dinner she cooked at his place, one night, when she finally bucked up the courage to propose the bet to him. She had made a rather decent portion of ramen -- not the instant stuff (save for the noodles, themselves), but the 'homemade broth, fresh cut vegetables, and other restaurant-quality ingredients' kind of ramen. It was a bit of a challenge for her, as she'd never done it before (the instant stuff was good enough when she wanted ramen, herself), and as it turned out so well she was feeling especially confident. Confident enough, even, to make her wager.

"Naruto," she hummed after they had both eaten the pot dry. "I was wondering... I'm getting tired of doing all of the paperwork for my hospital. Do you think you might be willing to come and deal with it for me for a week or so? I need a break."

Naruto blinked. "But... I'm terrible with paperwork! You'd be better off asking Ino."

"Ino's being a bit of a nuissance since she got back," Sakura fibbed. Ino wasn't as bad as she usually was, actually, but there was always a little bit of nuissance-teasing coming from her, so it wasn't a complete lie... but it would explain why she wanted him to do something he so obviously wouldn't want to do. "In fact, I was thinking of spending some time over here, just to get away from her. There's no way I'd even _want_ her working with me right now. So, would you? Please?"

Naruto looked down. "I... Sakura-chan, you know I'll do anything for you, but--"

"Then let's make it a bit of a game," Sakura suggested, letting him off the hook before he could commit either way. She was sure she could have talked him into it without the bet, but she didn't really want him to help her out, anyway. She could use the help, that was true, but he wouldn't normally be her first choice. However, it was a good enough way of motivating him for that chess match. "I'll wager you can't do something. If I win, you give me that week of help for the paperwork."

"What'll I get if I win?"

"You won't," Sakura snorted, using the best of her acting ability. She honestly believed he would, but she couldn't seem too eager for him to win or it'd ruin the point of this little exercise. "Because I'm going to bet that you can't beat Shikamaru in a game of chess."

Naruto scratched his head skeptically. "You're right -- I won't win. I don't even know how to play chess. Why would I even take this bet?"

"Because of what's in it for you if you win," Sakura explained. She took a deep breath -- she'd had days to prepare for this, so she was ready to make the commitment. She might even enjoy it... and she wouldn't be acting disloyal to Sasuke, after all, because it was just a silly bet. People did things like this all the time over bets without it meaning anything, didn't they? "If you win, Naruto-kun, I'll give you a massage. Not a 'post-workout' treatment massage like all of us ninja have had at one time or another, but a _good_ massage... the same kind of massage that call girl gave you in the brothel Jiraiya took you to. _That_ kind of massage..."

Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull at that pronouncement. "Sakura-chan... you... do you even know how to do that kind of massage?"

"No," Sakura admitted. "I'm not worried enough about you winning to really be too concerned about it, though. If you do happen to win, I suppose I could get Hana-san to teach me. She's been through a few months of courtesan training, before, and even if she didn't complete the course, I'm told sensual massage is the first skill kunoichi are taught."

Naruto looked torn. "Sakura-chan, I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do. This is--"

"Naruto-kun," Sakura again interrupted before he could finish. "First of all, you don't have a chance of winning -- you know nothing about chess, and Shikamaru's a master at it. If you somehow managed to luck out and catch Shikamaru on a bad month, however -- since this game will have to be played by mail, after all, since he's not here -- then I'll go ahead and do it. After all, I actually _do_ like you, Naruto-kun. I don't really want to do it, but I don't _not_ want to do it, either. I'm a bit too nervous to actually try something like this without the excuse of having lost a bet to make me do it, after all, and... well, I'm not sure if we're ready for this, but by the time you and Shikamaru have finished your game and I'm all trained up and ready to give that massage, maybe I will _be_ sure. It's my choice, you know, Naruto-kun."

"Um, if you're sure," Naruto hesitantly replied. "But I thought you were making this bet because you knew... Shikamaru's coming here."

"Huh?" Sakura asked, startled.

"Yeah. Konoha's sending in Gai's team to finish up Asuma's communications work, but Gai won't be with them. I don't know the details, but apparently Shikamaru's temporarily been put in charge of their team for the trip out here -- his 'acting-jounin' mission, whatever that means."

Sakura blinked. "Wow... well, that's okay. Even if you win, I'll still have a few weeks of learning under Hana to try and get used to the idea. But you won't win... especially not if you don't take the bet."

Naruto grinned a very fox-like grin. "Oh, with that as the prize, you'd better believe I'll take that bet," he replied. "And I'll win, too! All I need to know, now, is, um, how to play."

"Asuma-san said he'll teach you," Sakura said, grinning deviously. "I was expecting to make this wager with you, after all."

* * *

It was a late evening, about ten days later, that Shikamaru and the trio which were regularly Gai's team arrived in Blossom. While they were pretty quickly sequestered in with Asuma to work on the communications line problems, Naruto had managed to extract a promise from the foursome to attend a small reunion party that night. They would all be in town for at least a week, and then they and Asuma would be returning to Konoha, and regular messenger service would finally be established between the two villages.

Sakura and Ino, of course, were joining Naruto at the reunion party. So were all three genin teams, anxious for news from home, and their three jounin instructors. Anko, also, was planning to be at the restaurant -- although she wasn't exactly invited, that never stopped her from having a good time. Kakashi said he might drop by, but knowing his perpetual inability to ever be on time for anything, chances were the party would be over -- or at least winding down -- before he arrived. Between everyone who said they were planning to show up and the excitement of the possible bet for those 'in the know' -- namely, Asuma, Naruto, Sakura, Anko, and Ino -- almost everyone was looking forward to that evening.

The first people to arrive at the restaurant they had agreed to -- a noodle shop, to provide the ramen Naruto was known to crave and a selection of choices for everyone else -- were Naruto and Sakura. They were quickly joined by Ino and Hana's group, who had met on the way to the place. They were just taking their seats when the guests of honor -- Shikamaru and his group -- finally arrived.

"Shikamaru!" Ino cried, waving over to him. "Over here!"

"Meh... shouting like that in a restaurant. Women. How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. "Let's go. I doubt they'll quiet down until we're close enough to talk."

"It's a party, Shikamaru-kun!" Lee pointed out. "We're allowed to make some noise! Come on, guys!"

With those words, Lee made a beeline straight for Sakura. Shikamaru sighed, but decided that his former teammate might have some good information, and so started making his way over to Ino. Tenten shrugged, not really knowing the people here as well as most, and decided to sit between Lee and Shikamaru -- that way, she could involve herself in the conversation of either of the girls the two boys had decided to chat with. Neji, however, remained where he was.

He was undecided as to where to go. Hanabi, obviously, would be waiting for him to pay the 'proper' respects due her as his 'superior' in the clan, but he didn't particularly want to see her. She was too much into the old school of thought in the Hyuuga clan -- including he tradition of the branch family being little more than slaves of the main family. Fortunately, he had an excuse for not seeing her immediately... but, knowing her, he'd be punished anyway. Still, fate was fate. He may now believe that fate was alterable, but it would take effort to change... and somehow, he doubted he could expend the effort needed to avoid punishment from Hanabi. That decided, he made his way over to Naruto, pulling a few letters out of his pocket.

"Naruto-san," Neji said. "I was asked to deliver these messages to you."

Naruto took the profferred letters, checking to see who they were from. "Who's the 'Teuchi' person?"

Neji hesitated, a little surprised. "I thought you knew -- he's the chef at the Ichiraku restaurant."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? Wow -- he never told me his name, before. What's his clan name?"

"That, I do not know," Neji sighed. "However, he asked me to take this letter to you as I was leaving, and his name was on it, so I assumed you would know who he was."

"I know him pretty well," Naruto said, opening the letter and starting to read. "Just not his name. Hey, what's this about him selling the Ichiraku?"

Neji blinked. "I... don't know. It was still in business when he left..."

"Naruto-kun," Naruto read.

"I am sorry to say that I will be selling the Ichiraku before you can return to Konoha. I'm getting old, and want to retire -- or at least to cut down my hours considerably. I will still be taking in the money your friend, Kiba, was instructed to spend on our restaurant, but it'll be going back to you when you return: I'm arranging a surprise for you with it. You won't lose your favorite ramen place, however -- I'll still be cooking there, part-time, and my daughter will continue to work there. In fact, I'll be teaching her to take over for me eventually -- she's still part owner of the restaurant. The new owners also won't object to your eating here, either -- I made a condition of the sale that you be allowed to eat at the Ichiraka whenever you want. (Don't think you'll be getting too many free meals, though -- they'll still be charging you. It's just that they'll be charging you half of their menu price, from now on)

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, and the only thing which has kept me from retiring sooner was the thought that I wanted to be here to still be that 'one comfort' for you when you returned from your training journey. Then, you left for this next extended mission, and I find that I just cannot keep working through the years you are expected to be gone. My daughter will still be here, however, and maybe I'll even stop by and cook a bowl for you, for old times' sake.

"My apologies for this, Naruto-kun, but all things must end in time.

"Teuchi (the 'Old Man' from the Ichiraku)"

* * *

"So, Lee-kun," Sakura laughed once his over-enthusiastic greeting had been taken care of. "Tell me... where's Gai-sensei, anyway? I didn't think he'd let your team go anywhere without him!"

Lee's happy expression fell, and tears appeared in his eyes. "Gai-sensei!" he cried.

"Lee-kun! What's wrong?" Sakura asked, suddenly very concerned.

"Oh, boy, not this again," Tenten moaned.

"Gai-sensei... Gai-sensei..." Lee muttered over and over, tears streaming from his eyes.

"What happened?" Sakura repeated, bewildered.

"You won't get anything sensible out of him," Tenten sighed. "So I guess it's up to me to explain it. Basically, he's on medical leave for the next six weeks."

"Medical leave for _six weeks_? Sheesh -- what happened to him? Tsunade-shishou can handle just about anything in a few minutes, so it must have been very serious..."

"Gai-sensei..." Lee sobbed.

Tenten shook her head. "Get over it, Lee-kun," she said before turning her attention back to Sakura. "Well, it started out with an S-rank mission the whole team was sent on about the same time yours was sent here. There was a big fight against a team of missing nin -- not quite as strong as, say, Akatsuki, but if they'd been left to build their power long enough they might have rivaled them. Things were going well, but Gai-sensei used the primary lotus and then was hit so hard in the knee that his knee was shattered, several tendons torn, and the muscles in his leg were nearly ruined by the shock of the primary lotus combined with the torn muscles that his lotus techniques were doing to him. It... looked awful. Fortunately, we completed the mission, despite that, but it was a hard slog dragging his carcass back to Konoha. It was raining a lot, back then, if you recall, and he was soaked to the bone most of the way."

"Oh, Gai-sensei!"

Sakura scratched her head. "That sounds horrible, but I think Tsunade-shishou could fix that."

"She did," Tenten agreed. "But he was _supposed_ to stay off of that leg for a week, and instead decided to go through one of his insane marathon training sessions within an hour after the surgery... and got a stress fracture in the same leg."

"Oh, Gai-sensei!"

"Stupid of him, but Tsunade-shishou should have been able to heal him anyway."

"Oh, that wasn't much of a problem -- a trainee medi-nin took care of the injury before Tsunade-sama even knew about it.. But we'd been assigned to a mission, in the meantime, and even though he was _still_ in recovery, he snuck out of the hospital to join us on it. Of course, he got into a fight which required he use the lotus techniques again..."

"So, he re-injured himself?"

"Not really -- not beyond the amount of injury they normally cost the user -- but on our way back his leg gave out and he fell down a cliff."

"Gai-sensei!"

Sakura winced. "Hmm... was Tsunade-shishou willing to help him through that?"

"She didn't even see him," Tenten answered. "A couple of the medi-nin from the team that patched Neji-kun up after the pursuit of Sasuke took care of it. But while still recovering, he decided to do his best to demonstrate the tree-climbing exercise, and fell out of the tree... back onto his injured leg."

"Gai-sensei!"

"How bad was the damage?" Sakura asked.

"Not too bad -- Shizune healed it for him. But then Tsunade-sama showed up, broke the leg in two places, re-set it, and warned anyone who tried to fix it before it healed naturally that they would, and I quote, 'be strung up by their toes in front of the hospital as an example for people who don't understand that you shouldn't be using medical ninjitsu on the same injury so many times.' And then she assigned us a temporary leader with Shikamaru-kun, who was just back for a while from the embassy to the Sand because Tsunade had apparently finally convinced him to try becoming a jounin, and we've spent all the time since then learning what we needed for this mission."

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee-kun... shut _up_!" Tenten roared, delivering a powerful slap to the back of his head, nearly knocking him over. "Anyway, he'll be fine once Tsunade lets him take off the cast."

Sakura restrained a chuckle she felt welling up inside her, and then helped Lee back into his seat. "I'm, um, sorry about Gai-sensei, Lee-kun. I'm sure he'll be fine, though."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" Lee replied enthusiastically, clenching her hands while tears, now of joy instead of sadness, poured down his face. "Would you be willing to go on a date with me to celebrate his recovery?"

Tenten slapped her forehead, leaning back into her chair in disgust. "Oh, good grief."

"Um, he hasn't recovered yet, Lee-kun," Sakura replied nervously, then swallowed that nervousness in a display of sympathetic pride. "And I'm sorry, but I'm not likely to be going on any dates with you. I'm, um, kind of dating Naruto-kun, now."

Lee's face fell. "Well... if you're happy with him..."

Sakura thought about that. Yes, there was some stress involved in having Uzumaki Naruto, keeper of the kyuubi, one-time drop-out and future hokage as a boyfriend. However, she actually enjoyed her time spent with him, and so figured he did a pretty good job of keeping him happy. "Yes," she said, turning to look at him. "I've actually rather enjoyed... our... time... together."

"Well, that's great," Lee said, forcing a smile. "But I'd still like to talk with you in private, if I--"

"Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura asked, darting from her seat. Lee and Tenten both looked followed her with their eyes as she ran to comfort a crying Naruto.

"The ramen chef... he... he's quitting. And he says..."

Lee quit listening and turned to the party buffet with a sigh. He had really hoped to talk with Sakura while he was hear, but it didn't look like he'd have a chance. And that was... very bad -- there was something he was hiding. He knew he needed to talk with someone about it, but there was only one person who was qualified to help him in Konoha... and she was the person he was most afraid of talking to. Sakura could help him, probably, but... it looked as if that was a pipe dream, as well.

_So what am I going to do, now,_ he thought, _If I talk to Tsunade-sama about this, she'll take me off the roster; but... I have to do something about the fact that the wounds Gaara-san gave me three years ago are coming back._

* * *

"Okay," Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "Could you repeat what you just said, because I know that I must have heard you wrong."

Ino looked a little ticked off that he seemed so unwilling to bend to his will. He used to do everything she said -- when did he grow a backbone, anyway? "I said," she repeated, "That we need to arrange a chess match between you and Naruto-dono while you're still here. There are a lot of people who have a number of bets riding on this."

Shikamaru's eye twitched. "And just who bet that I would _lose_ a chess match to somebody who's never played the game, before?"

"Sakura-chan," Ino chuckled. "She's... um, gotten rather attached to him, lately, and I think she's overestimating his abilities because of how she feels for him. Still, she's made a bet with Anko-san about it, and, well, I've got something of a side-bet going with her. But she seems determined to prove that he can beat you in a game of chess, so I figure you should agree to play one with him."

"How troublesome," he sighed. "Oh, well. I suppose I should try and play him, for prides sake if nothing else. But we've got a busy week ahead -- we'd better make it tonight. Assuming we can find a chess set in this half-built village..."

"Good," Anko said, suddenly dropping into his table. "I've got a chess set right here. Ino-chan, go get Naruto-chan over here, will you? Shikamaru-chan, why don't you set up the pieces while we wait?"

"Um..." Shikamaru hesitated.

"Yes, ma'am," Ino replied, saluting.

"What am I getting myself into?" Shikamaru sighed. "Women... always getting us men into trouble."

"Damn straight we do, kiddo," Anko laughed. "But we always try and make it up to you in the end..."

* * *

"Hana-san," Neji said, addressing the other jounin. "There was actually another member of our party on the journey here, but he was not allowed to enter the restaurant. He would be delighted if you could go out and join him."

"Really?" Hana said, surprised. "Who is it?"

"Kuromaru," Neji answered.

"Mom's dog?" Hana replied, startled. "Oh, my -- something must be going on at home. I need to go and talk with him -- if anyone wonders where I've gone, let them know I'll be right back. Futaba-chan, come with me -- he might be here to talk to you, too."

With that out of the way, Neji turned to the person he had most dreaded seeing on this journey. His uncle, Hiashi, was difficult to deal with, but at least he had the guilt of his brother's death to keep him from abusing his power too much, and being too severe with him during his few minor attempts to rebel. Hinata, he had found, was actually much more sympathetic to him then anyone else in the Hyuuga clan, and he often regretted his attempt to kill her back during the chuunin exam. Hanabi, however... she was a very different sort of relative. She had the stodgy formalness of his uncle, a power that could one day rival (though probably not surpass) his own, and nothing to keep in check the arrogance with which the main line of the Hyuuga clan dominated the branch line. And, perhaps because she viewed him as an insult to her existence, merely for being more powerful then her, she hated his guts.

"Hanabi-sama," he said, bowing in greeting as formally as he could.

"Neji," she replied. With a twitch of her hands, she activated his cursed seal.

"Ah!" Neji cried in pain, glad he didn't have too far to fall while kneeling.

"What were you thinking, not coming to pay me the proper respects first-thing?" she demanded, releasing the seal before she did him permanent damage. Her father actually seemed to respect this insult to the main line of the Hyuuga clan, so she wouldn't dare do anything that might kill or cripple him... although it was surprising what a person could live through.

"Hanabi-chan!" Daichi protested. "What are you doing to him?"

"This is clan business, Daichi-san," she snapped back. "Stay out of it."

"But he's a jounin!" he insisted. "He's--"

"Daichi-san," Neji huffed, barely able to breath. "Stop. No sense in the both of us being injured, tonight, because my cousin insists on demonstrating her superiority to me."

"I would listen to him if I were you, Daichi-san," Hanabi growled. "Because we both know you're completely hopeless as a ninja."

"Not true!" Daichi insisted. "I carry a powerful bloodline ability, and as soon as it manifests itse--"

"Whatever," Hanabi snorted dismissively. "If your family line is truly related to the Aburame family line, then I suppose there's a slim chance you may gain a little power, some day. But no-one is superior to the Hyuuga clan."

"Naruto-kun is," Neji pointed out defiantly.

"Don't! Mention! That! To! Me!" Hanabi shouted. "Your loss was a disgrace to our family--"

"But Hanabi-chan," Daichi pointed out, "You lost to him, too."

"He outranks me!" Hanabi shot back. "And he attacked me when I was unprepared! If we ever fight again, I will destroy him!"

"Considering what he did to you," Daichi coughed, "I seriously doubt that."

Hanabi clenched her fists, trembling. "Daichi, unless you want me to kill you right now, you will shut up."

"Uh... yes, ma'am," Daichi replied quietly.

"Now, Neji... you were about to explain to me just why you neglected your duties and went to others before presenting yourself to me," Hanabi demanded.

"Duty before courtesy," Neji replied. "Your own father says that. I had a duty to present Naruto-kun and Hana-san with certain messages which superceded the courtesy of paying my respects to you."

"Did it never occur to you that I might need to discuss certain matters with you, and that you might have a more important duty to _me?_" Hanabi asked shrilly.

Neji paused. He had to be very careful how he answered this one. "Is there a piece of family business we must immediately discuss which supercedes the needs of our village?" he asked warily.

"As a matter of fact, there is," Hanabi sighed, gesturing -- finally -- for him to stand up. "In this village, right now, is a Ancestral Traitor."

Ancestral Traitors was the name given to the first 'branch' line of the family -- the one which refused to accept the 'gift' of the enhanced byakuugan granted by the lesser demon. They refused to accept their 'proper' subjugation, and fought back against the seals of enslavement the main line of the family tried to place on them. Most were destroyed, but a scattered few families were able to flee unharmed. The Hyuuga clan spent decades hunting them down, and they thought they had eradicated the threat... but apparently, as a new 'Ancestral Traitor' was found periodically, they didn't quite get them all.

Neji was shocked to hear of the discovery of one in Wave country. "Who is it?" he asked, his thoughts in too much of a jumble to decide what to think about this revelation.

"An orphan by the name of Adaha, who is now a member of the Blossom Ninja Academy," Hanabi snorted in disgust. "I am... required... to help him learn to use his primative byakuugan by Kakashi-oyabun. And he is under too close a watch for me to do anything... so I have decided to bide my time. You must -- in secret, for I suspect I would be prevented from sending this message overtly -- inform my father as soon as possible. I need his counsel as to how to proceed."

"I will do as commanded, Hanabi-sama," Neji replied, not having any choice. He could feel his seal accomodating her order. It could not force him to obey, exactly, but if he did something to contradict that order it would slowly start giving him pain on its own. Another reason he hated the main family -- they had really done a number on the branch family when they created that seal.

"Of course you will," Hanabi sighed, bored. "Now... tell me all of the news from home, starting with family business first. Leave nothing else."

"Well," Neji began. "Hinata-sama still refuses to marry me, or any other of her cousins for that matter, but..."

* * *

"Kuromaru-san," Hana began, speaking with the large dog outside the doors of the restaurant. His fur was once as black as his name suggested, but he had been gradually greying over the past several years. As most ninja dogs, he would live for a very long time -- almost as long as a human being -- but he was past his prime. Still, he was one of the most powerful dogs to regularly keep company with their human partners -- any larger would not stay, and would only show up when summoned -- and he was one of those dogs who had learned human speech over his lifetime. "Greetings."

"Hana-chan," the wise animal replied. "Futaba-chan. It is good to see you. It has been too long."

"It has," Hana agreed. "But why are you here? Is everything all right at home?"

"Yes," Kuromaru replied. "However, your mother is retiring from active service to take a seat on the council. Since she will no longer be taking regular missions, she asked if I would join you and Futaba-chan to look after the two of you, since she is no longer able to."

"Aren't you going to want to retire, some day, too, Kuromaru-chan?" Futaba asked, concerned.

A doggy laugh answered her. "And just what would I do if I did, Futaba-chan? Unlike the humans of the Inuzuka clan, there is no council I can retire to serve on. I may, one day, decide to work with the young... but, right now, Gonta and Akamaru are the only young who are old enough to train. Akamaru has many other dogs to look after him... but here, in this small village, who will look after your companion?"

Futaba smiled at the animal which helped raise her almost as much as her own parents had. "You will, of course, Kuromaru-chan. But won't there be a time when you get tired of being on duty so much?"

"Yes. But not until after I'm dead," Kuromaru snorted. "I'll slow down some, before I'm good and done, but I've still got many years in me first. Now, tell me... what has been going on around here?"

"Not much," Hana admitted. "Both of the other teams have been going out on missions, recently, but we've been held back because it seems we're the best team to work with the Academy students -- Hanabi-san in particular, since it seems there's a dojutsu user in the class."

"We had a mock tournament a couple weeks ago," Futaba added. "It was fun, even though we both lost."

"You lost? To whom?" Kuromaru growled.

"Naruto-san," Hana answered.

"The kyuubi brat?" the dog asked.

"Kyuubi?" Futaba echoed, confused.

"Kuromaro! You know we are forbidden from discussing that!" Hana snapped.

The dog gave her an impatient look. "You humans may be, but I am not a human."

"Why is Naruto-sensei a 'kyuubi brat?'" Futaba asked.

The answer he gave was not what Hana had expected. She expected the typical villager's view, that Naruto was what was left of the kyuubi after the Fourth died trying to protect the village. Kuromaru's assessment, however, gave her a new perspective on the boy.

"Naruto is the child sacrificed to become the jailor of the kyuubi," he explained. "He will, from birth to death, have the burden of containing the most powerful of the nine greater demons. This burden will grant him great powers, but also scorn and mistrust from many of the people who should care for him the most. Should he have children, they will form a powerful clan the likes of which have never been seen. The likelihood of anyone ever trusting him enough to bed him, however, is low..."

"Not as low as you'd think," Hana muttered. "He seems quite attached to the hokage's apprentice, and she to him."

"Any loss to him should not be looked at as a failure," Kuromaru lectured. "As long as you live through it."

"Well, I intend to ask him to be a sparring partner," Hana said. "His defeat of me has me concerned for my own skill, but Jiraiya-sama of the sannin suggested him as a training partner. I wasn't so sure, because of the kyuubi, but... if you believe him to be safe--"

"I do."

"Then I think perhaps I'll ask him to, after all." She frowned, turning to her cousin. "Kuromaru may be able to get away with telling people about the kyuubi, but you may not. The law forbids it from being discussed, so you shall not mention it. He has enough problems, as it is, with people shunning him for this."

"Shunning him?" Futaba said, startled. "Why would anyone shun him? I think it's cool! But... I suppose I can't break the law about that, can I? Oh, well... come on, Kuromaru-chan. We'll get you into the restaurant -- I'm sure you would enjoy the food, and maybe you'll like the party, too."

* * *

There turned out to be a lot of interest in Naruto's and Shikamaru's chess match, as just about everyone tried to gather around the table to watch. Kuromaru, who Hana had been able to bring in after pointing out that -- in a ninja village -- animals could be the equals of some people, had leapt to the top of a nearby table in order to get a good view. Sakura was by Naruto's side, of course, and Futaba -- much to Hana's surprise -- joined her. So did some of the other genin, including Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi. Neji, after thinking about it for a while, decided -- to everyone's surprise -- to place a wager on Naruto with Anko, who was managing the betting pool. Hanabi, with a glare, immediately placed a similar bet on Shikamaru. The jounin instructors and Ino were all staying well out of the gambling pit, none of them believing Naruto had a chance but none of them wanting to say it in front of the boy. Asuma had his own opinion, but he wasn't sharing it with anyone, and certainly wasn't going to put his money down on anyone. Yet everyone, those who placed a bet and those who didn't, wanted to watch.

Naruto was still a little depressed at the news from home about the Ichiraku, but the excitement around him from everyone interested in his game -- including the surprising (to him) support of Sakura -- was rapidly lifting his spirits. He took a good look at the chess board, considering his strategy.

"Now, Naruto," Shikamaru started explaining. "The types of pieces on the chess board are the pawn, the rooks, the knights, the bishops, the--"

"I know," Naruto replied impatiently. "Asuma-sensei was teaching me how to play a couple days ago, because we knew this was coming. You're white, go ahead and make the first move."

"Asuma-sensei?" Shikamaru repeated, startled, as he turned to look at his former teacher.

The jounin merely shrugged, smiling around his perpetually lit cigarette, and nodded back to the board. "Play," he said.

"Uh, right," Shikamaru finally said, unsure of things. Asuma had only had a couple days to teach Naruto anything, right? So... he couldn't have taught him that much. Probably just enough so that he'd move the pieces right... so why was he suddenly so nervous? With that in mind, he figured he could open with a classic opening, and see how Naruto moved from there.

Naruto's response immediately dispelled all of Shikamaru's concerns. _The Paris Defense? Sheesh... Naruto, you're hopeless!_ he thought, disgusted he had to play with such a rank amateur. In truth, he actually respected Naruto -- he'd occasionally make tactical suggestions which weren't all that bad, when they worked together on missions -- but no-one who only learned chess two or three days before could possibly stand a chance against a veteran of Shikamaru's experience... unless Naruto somehow wound up with a fool's mate or similar 'lucky' move. Many veterans were tripped up by such a simple move, but Shikamaru would not be caught out for that, this time.

As the game progressed, Naruto's lack of experience showed. He was pushing out all of his powerful pieces as quickly as possible, instead of holding some of them in for the endgame like he should. He didn't seem to care, much, about his pawns -- more than once even overlooking a chance to take Shikamaru's queen with one of those pawns -- except to get them out of the way for a while. He would charge in with a major piece, like his queen, and then dance it around reeking havoc against all of Shikamaru's pieces indescriminately. When Shikamaru would pin that piece down, he seemed to lose hope in it, moving a pawn to get it out of the way for the next power piece to come into play rather then try to rescue the endangered piece. More than once, Shikamaru would find himself easily chasing Naruto's king around the board, from one end to the other. Whenever he looked across to study his opponent, he saw that Naruto hadn't seemed to lose his confidence... but then, Naruto was known for never losing his confidence, even when it was completely hopeless.

It wasn't until Shikamaru had taken Naruto's last knight -- the only thing he still had other then pawns and his king -- that he realized the position he was in. Naruto had, by apparently just 'moving pawns out of the way,' and allowing his king to be chased across the board, positioned his pawns to become... dangerous. Very dangerous. Dangerous enough that Shikamaru had to assume his meditative position in order to try and think his way out of it.

"My god," Asuma whispered, surveying the board. He hadn't seen it coming, either, but when Shikamaru moved into his 'thinking pose,' he started re-assessing his view of how the game was going so far. Naruto, by being blaringly obvious about what his 'power' pieces were doing, had managed to maneuver his pawns and king right where he wanted them. Asuma still felt that Shikamaru would be able to make his way out of it -- after all, he still had a major advantage in terms of power, and he was a tactical genius who likely had seen all of the threats at one point or another and prepared for them -- but the fact that Naruto had made Shikamaru pause, when Naruto was such a rookie at this game, made the jounin respect him all that much more.

_He was acting like such an amateur, _Shikamaru thought. _I never realized that he was actually planning everything -- possibly right from the start! I underestimated him, and so didn't pay any attention to how he was moving his pawns... just like he hoped. I never would have made such a stupid mistake against Asuma-sensei, but because this was Naruto and because I thought he didn't know what he was doing, I only paid attention to what he was obviously doing. I didn't think to look beyond the ordinary... and so now I have to figure out what to do_.

Sakura was very nervous. She didn't understand the game of chess at all, but it looked to her like Naruto had been losing from the start. There were so many reasons she wanted him to win, not the least of which was that she wanted people to respect his tactical mind as much as she had grown to admire it... but this game looked to only encourage his doubters. Naruto's 'camp,' including herself, Neji, Konohamaru's group, and Futaba, all seemed rather disheartened. _No, I take that back. Not everyone who supports Naruto seems to think Naruto's been defeated. Neji seems to be smiling... but why is Neji smiling?_

Neji's smile only grew the longer that Shikamaru remained in his meditative state. Finally, the Hyuuga man made his first comment since placing the bet.

"Naruto has mate in three."

Almost everyone present spun on him, shocked. They all turned to look at the board, again, trying desperately to figure out just what it was Neji saw... before Shikamaru nodded.

"Close," Shikamaru said. "I could push it to mate in four. But it's over." He tipped over his king. "I cannot stop all six of your remaining pawns before you get me checkmated, Naruto, so I must congratulate you."

Murmurs arose among the crowd, who had been expecting the statement to go the other way around, but Naruto grinned. "Heh... I figured you wouldn't think about my pawns," Naruto said. "It's just like a normal fight -- I don't use my best moves to win, but I use them to set up a victory with a simple headbutt, or a thrown shuriken, or a single kick to take down three genjutsu users, or the like. Everyone gets so worried about my more powerful moves that they don't think to account for the little things."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Actually, Naruto, I underestimated you. Against any other chess opponent, I _would_ have looked for those pawns to be doing the very thing you did... but I never thought you could come up with a strategy like this, after only learning the game three days ago. I'm still impressed, though..."

"Heh heh... thanks," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "I probably couldn't beat you more than once, but I figured I stood a shot this time..."

The crowd's chatting started overwhelming their mutual compliments, but niether of them minded overmuch. It allowed Shikamaru to pull away from the spotlight, as it was turned towards Naruto... and the blond boy was delighted to find himself being given a powerful hug from his girlfriend as a reward for his victory.

"Wow, Naruto-kun," Sakura said. "I really thought you'd lost at the end there, but you really proved me wrong!" She winked at him. "I guess I'd better have a discussion with Hana, soon, huh?"

Naruto blushed. "Uh... yeah..."

Anko watched the pair with a smile, and then stepped out. She would have to find that Yuugao woman -- the two of them needed to have a chat about teaching Sakura what needed to be taught.

* * *

It was several days before Shikamaru and their team left. Sakura had been forced to deflect three attempted dates from Lee, who didn't seem to pay attention to the fact that she'd said she was dating Naruto... or didn't care. Sakura wasn't sure what to make of it -- she'd never seen Lee as the sort of person who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, but he was hounding her for some 'time alone together,' and it was starting to creep her out a bit.

Naruto's time had been taken up by Shikamaru and Neji, both of whom wanted to talk with him about a number of things. That was fine with Sakura -- she didn't begrudge Naruto a chance to be with some of the only male contemporaries he had who respected him -- but it left her alone a bit longer then she'd have liked. Tenten seemed to have latched on to Ino, and the two were gossiping up a storm. If Sakura understood the latest rumors properly, Hinata was refusing to marry not because her family was insisting she select one of her cousins as a husband, but rather because she had more than one candidate in mind outside of the family. Who those candidates were remained widely speculated upon, as most of the Rookie Nine (as well as Tenten's own team) seemed to be surprisingly old to remain unattached as Konoha ninjas, but the fact that she _had_ settled on people outside of her own clan was astonishing for the Hyuuga. Hanabi was seen to be in distress every time her sister was even mentioned near her, as word continued to flow out about the situation in Konoha, yet Neji seemed distinctly unconcerned.

Sakura had hoped to spend the time that Naruto was spending with his friends from Konoha to get started on that 'massage training' with Hana, but she couldn't find either Inuzuka to talk to. One of the dogs guarding Hana's apartment, who was able to speak broken human, gave a rather confused explanation about the two of them working with one of the new arrivals... but which one was never mentioned. Since Sakura was fairly certain where Lee, Shikamaru, Neji, and Tenten were at most of the times Hana was absent, she had no idea who the dog was referring to. The one advantage she had was that, apparently, Anko had managed to talk the ANBU girl into actually training her like she was supposed to. Her repertoire of genjutsu now included several additional techniques -- which she had varying levels of mastery of -- which she might not have ever learned if Anko hadn't intervened. Sakura made a mental note to ask the woman just how she'd managed to convince the reluctant ANBU to teach her like she was supposed to.

At the moment, however, she was on her way to Naruto's apartment. She wanted to discuss with him his 'prize' from the bet... because it looked like it would take longer for her to get ready then she had earlier suggested. Especially if she couldn't find Hana -- there weren't many others in Blossom who had gone through any amount of courtesan training, and Sakura didn't know who else would be able to teach her any 'proper' sensual massage techniques. She couldn't even approach a professional brothel to ask for their instruction -- the closest one would take a day trip to the Naruto Bridge, and she couldn't arrange for too many full days off with her hectic schedule.

She was about a block away when she saw something which made her heart drop into her stomach. Leaving the door of Naruto's apartment, she saw Inuzuka Hana... a very satisfied smile on her face. Sakura remembered the words she'd spoken to Ino not too long ago -- _'No-one is too loyal for Hana. I don't think there's a woman alive who could compete for the guy she eventually sets her sights on.'_ The very concept of Naruto possibly having... an affair? _No, that implied... well, maybe 'affair' is the right right word._ The idea that Naruto might _be_ with the older woman disturbed Sakura greatly.

Hana noticed Sakura, and waved to her. Teeth gritted, Sakura realized she would have to talk to the... the... manstealer!

"Hello, Hana-san," she began, barely able to get the polite honorific out of her mouth.

If Hana noticed, she didn't react. "Sakura-chan! How nice to see you."

"Er... is that so?" Sakura said, unsure of how to respond.

"Um, yes, it is," Hana replied, looking at Sakura curiously. Then she shrugged. "That Naruto-kun of yours... I never realized how much fun he is to be around."

"Yes," Sakura replied dryly, not amused. Was this... bitch (whether Sakura meant the word as a female dog or as... something else, even she wasn't sure) _trying_ to flaunt the fact that she was stealing Sakura's boyfriend right from under her nose, or what?

"He's really very sweet -- not at all like the rumors around Konoha claim he should be," Hana explained happily. "I'm so glad he's agreed to spar with me -- Jiraiya-sama told me he'd be a good partner, but I didn't believe him at first. Naruto-kun is really very skilled -- I'm truly impressed with him."

"Spar?" Sakura asked, startled. Were all of those... double meanings she heard, really explainable away just by a sparring session? Well, yes, possibly... but Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to take that chance.

"Of course, sparring. I'm certainly not going to him for cooking advice!" Hana laughed. "Dear lord -- I never thought I'd have ever seen as much ramen as he has stored in his kitchen."

"It's his favorite dish," Sakura explained absently. "And it's cheap -- he wasn't exactly swimming in money, growing up."

"Well, no," Hana admitted. "But, then again, the Inuzuka clan wasn't exactly the richest family group around, and we got by without having to have ramen every meal."

Sakura swallowed. "Well, it's been... nice... seeing you, Hana-san. I'm late." Then she paused -- oh, yes, she needed Hana's help, didn't she? Well, perhaps it would be moot if Hana really was after Naruto -- why would he want Sakura if he had little Miss Most Seductive. But... well, it would be a useful skill to learn, anyway. "But I'd like your help with something else, at some point. Can I meet you... somewhere private, to discuss it?"

Hana shrugged. "My team is going to be stuck here in Blossom for a while, I suspect, and there's only so much training a person can do a day before they go stark-raving mad. Just give me a call before you come over, and my door's open any time."

"Thanks," Sakura said, then stalked away from her. There would be time to talk with Hana later... right now, she had to determine just what was _really_ going on between the bitch girl and Naruto.

She didn't know what she was expecting when she opened the door to Naruto's apartment, but it wasn't what she saw. Naruto was... cleaning?

"Naruto-kun?" she said awkwardly, unsure if this really was the boy she knew.

He smiled at her without a trace of guilt as he carried the laundry basket filled with... well, it looked like laundry. Maybe not the dirty sheets that Sakura would expect after a passionate encounter, after all. "Hi, Sakura-chan! What's up?"

Sakura immediately decided that, even if Hana _was_ trying to take Naruto away from her (and just why was she thinking that, again?), he hadn't done anything with her... yet. Sakura trusted Naruto -- that much, she now felt fairly comfortable saying. She did _not_ trust Hana, however, so she felt she had to do something. Just what she decided to do right then, though, might be considered... a little drastic.

"I can't stand living with Ino-pig at the moment," Sakura snapped, taking her frustration with Hana out on an imaginary argument with her best female friend. "I'm just sick of dealing with her for a while. Is it okay if I move in? In a... more permanent way, perhaps?"

Naruto blinked. "Um... sure. You know I consider this place yours as much as it is mine -- why else would I have given you a key?"

"Thanks, Naruto-kun," Sakura sighed. "I just hope you don't get sick of me, because I don't know when -- or if -- I'll ever feel like moving back in with Ino." She considered what she had at Naruto's apartment and frowned. "Although I may have to go back there and pick some things up -- I kind of left in so big of a hurry I forgot to pack a few things I might need."

"Do you need me to help you pack?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"No -- I'll be alright," Sakura replied, waving him off. She might have wanted his help normally for such a heavy load, but she didn't want him talking with Ino before she had a chance to brief the other girl on the situation. "Um... I saw Hana leaving as I was coming over. I still haven't been able to talk with her about that massage training because I haven't been able to find her these past few days. Why was she here?"

Naruto flushed, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Um... don't worry about that bet thing. I won't hold you to it..."

Sakura stiffened. Was she not good enough for him, any more, now that he had Hana? Well, she'd just have to prove to him that she had magic hands, too! "I'll do it, but I'm just not ready, yet. I only need to learn how, first, but I'm sure -- between a little bit of knowledge about the sensual aspects and what I know of the medical theory of massages, that I'll give you the best one you've ever had!"

Naruto blinked. "I'm... um... sure you will, Sakura-chan. Um... Oh!"

"Yes?"

"Um... this is kind of embarrassing," Naruto admitted. "But... well, I've got something which might, uh, help with that massage."

Sakura blinked, not sure what to make of that. "What?"

Naruto ran back into his bedroom, then returned with a battered carton decorated like something out of a brothel. Most of the words on it were illegible, but she could make out 'Special' and 'No. 3' on it in various places. He presented it to her, saying, "Um, remember me telling you about Jiraiya's idea of a 'birthday present,' once?"

Sakura nodded uncertainly -- yes, she did remember. It was really the start of their relationship, after all -- the loyalty he had demonstrated when presented with a woman who would have done anything for him. "Yes..."

"Well, that woman... you know who I mean, right? She... well, she seemed to admire me for being so loyal to you. So, she asked her boss to give me this when I left." He handed it to her, blushing. "It used to contain all kinds of medicines and sports creams, suntan oils, that kind of thing. There were a few, um, items which I never really found a use for. It might be useful with, um, the... massage."

Sakura noticed that, among a number of empty bottles of various creams and oils -- most of which she recognized as being manufactured for those in the courtesan trade, but still being useful as travel medicine nonetheless -- there were some supplies Naruto had obviously found no use for. Among 'flavored personal lubricants' and a few contraceptive medications, there were three massage oils which likely were of no use as a medicine. One was scented of rose water, one was flavored of oranges, and one had extract of cinnamon 'for an added kick.' Obviously, this was, indeed, a gift pack from a brothel... and given its state, it was several years old. However, those bottles were still sealed, and therefore likely could still be used. "Hmm... well, well, well. You're right -- these might be interesting," Sakura said, a slow smirk on her face. Hana, apparently, knew nothing of these... and that could give her a big advantage in the massage front. "I'll take them, now, thank you very much."

Without waiting for his reaction, she took them into her bedroom and hid them where she was fairly certain Naruto would never look. Now, with her controlling the 'supplies,' and her living her all the time, it seemed... unlikely that the bitch girl would be able to usurp Naruto from Sakura. Which reminded her...

"Well, now... I left in too much of a hurry to pack my things," Sakura said, returning from her bedroom. "So I'll go and get the rest of my stuff. But I'll be back in just a few minutes. Maybe, if you started dinner now -- and not ramen, this time, but something a little healthier please -- I'll be back before it's ready." She reached over, grabbed him, and stated her claim over him with the deepest kiss she had ever given. All she could think of, while giving it, was that Naruto was _hers,_ dammit, and no girl who likely slept with her own dogs would take him from her! If Inner Sakura was dangling the name 'Sasuke' in her mind during this whole panicked moment, she didn't notice it. She was too intent on making that _this_ boy didn't follow Sasuke's path and leave her, too. Breaking the kiss, she patted him on the cheek. "Stay here -- I'll be right back."

As Naruto watched her go off in a daze, only one thought came through his mind. _Just what has gotten into her?_

* * *

Ino stared as Sakura stormed into their apartment, darting through the main room and into her own bedroom. Bemused, the blond girl peered around the doorframe to see her friend frantically packing things into a suitcase. Ino raised an eyebrow.

"You leaving?"

Sakura blinked, looking up at her. "Ino? Oh, you're home?"

Ino laughed. "Yes, Sakura-chan, I'm home. So, tell me... what's going on?"

"I'm moving in with Naruto for a while," Sakura said. "Now, either get out of my way or help me out. I've got to get back before..."

"Before what?" Ino asked, curious.

Sakura took a deep breath. "I was headed over to Naruto's place when I saw... when I saw that bitch ninja leaving his apartment."

"Bitch ninja?" Ino replied, blinking.

"You know... Hana!" Sakura sputtered. "Now... I guess I can trust Naruto. He's proven that he's loyal, and I could tell the moment I got inside that apartment that... that nothing happened. But I don't trust Hana -- I don't know for sure if she's got, got... intentions towards Naruto or not, but I don't want to let her have a chance at him if she does. So, I'm going to be right there, just in case she tries something."

Ino smirked. "So... this a permanent move, then?"

Sakura considered that for a moment. "Well... if Sasuke... that is... I don't know. It's... indefinite, until either Hana is no longer a threat, or... well... there's Sasuke. I'm not going to commit myself to Naruto until I give up being loyal to Sasuke, and I'm still loyal."

"I suppose," Ino sighed. "Though why the hell you're still holding out hope for that traitor is beyond me."

Sakura shook her head. "It's a long story, and... and I can't get into it right now. I've got to hurry! What if Hana shows up while I'm gone, and... and..."

"And what? Eats your dinner?" Ino snorted. "Sheesh, forehead-girl, quit being so paranoid. Even if she is targetting Naruto -- which wouldn't make any sense at all, given that I hear she's into _older_ men -- she won't get him in the ten minutes it'll take you to pack."

"You're right," Sakura admitted, sighing. "I'm being silly... but I can't help it! I... look, Sasuke left me. I'm hoping to get him back, but he left me. I'm not going to let Naruto leave me, too, dammit! I'm going to fight for him until I can't fight for him any more. Got it?"

Ino shook her head. "Sakura-chan... I don't know why you're so torn up about all this. It seems to me as if Naruto has always loved you and Sasuke never has. Naruto remained loyal to you, and stuck by your side, and Sasuke betrayed you and all of his friends, leaving us all in the process. Naruto fights for you, Sasuke for himself alone. Naruto would die to keep a promise to you..." She paused. "And Sasuke would kill him out of pure selfishness. I don't know why you remain so loyal to Sasuke, when Naruto is right there for you... and now, it seems, you actually want him to be there. You're fighting to keep him, at any rate, so I'd hope you want him there!"

"I do," Sakura admitted.

"You could have all the happiness in the world, I feel, if you broke from this fantasy of the perfect guy in Sasuke -- which, god help me, I remember once having myself -- and turned all that devotion over to Naruto. I don't understand it. I really don't."

Sakura sighed. "Sometimes, I don't, either. But... I'm at the point where I love Naruto, you know?" She swallowed. "There, I said it -- I love Naruto. I'm _in_ love with Naruto-kun. I... I don't even know what I feel, or felt, for Sasuke-kun any more... but I also know that, if I gave up on Sasuke-kun now, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. I know, because i know just what it would take to turn Sasuke around, to turn him into the person he should be... and I have to commit myself to him to do that. I cannot be disloyal to Sasuke, or that fails... and so does any hope of ever redeeming him."

"Is it worth it, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked slowly. "To give up love and happiness... to redeem a man who may be irredeemable?"

Sakura stiffened. She stormed out of the room, heading straight for the bathroom. Ino started to follow, but paused when she emerged moments later carrying her set of toiletries. "Is it worth it?" she finally said. "At one point, right before he left, I promised Sasuke-kun that he could be happy if he stayed with me. I promised him that I would make it work. Naruto... keeps his promises, even when they hurt him. I must keep mine, even when they hurt me... or else I'm not worthy of Naruto."

* * *

Notes: Well, since I didn't finish in three days, and here's a triple-length chapter (and the longest to date) for you. Hope you like it.

The name 'Ichiraku' means (according to a Naruto website I was looking at) One Comfort, which explains the reference mentioned in the ramen chef's letter. I'm not revealing what Teuchi's clan name is, yet, but he is NOT an Uzumaki, though -- Naruto is the last Uzumaki alive, in this fic. In fact, it's not any clan you've heard of so far, I think, but it will play at least a minor part in the story.

About Shikamaru being an 'acting-Jounin.' It's not exactly clear what his rank is, post-break. He mentions Temari and Neji having been promoted to Jounin, but doesn't include himself... which I find a rather odd omission as I would have thought he'd be the first jounin of the bunch. So, I figured he's been resisting it until now... and has finally been convinced to try for it. So, here he is, on his 'acting-jounin' mission for promotion.

There is no Neji-Hinata pairing in this story. Nor in any story in this fic's universe. However, as the Hiashi clan is so interested in keeping the byakuugan 'in the family,' they often force their children to marry thier cousins, so Hiashi-san is suggesting Neji as a candidate. Hinata, however... has her own plans. (Hmm... I really do hope to write that side story, some day, although I doubt it'll be as well developed as this one when it comes right down to it. At least, I'd have to do a lot more work to develop it as well... we'll see)

I've decided to re-order my chapters a little bit, because I decided that I didn't really need to put the next two chapters I was planning to put in here after all (and that little scene at the end with Hana took care of what I was planning to do for one chapter, anyway -- getting Sakura to move in with Naruto on a permanent basis). Also, after that... rather dramatic ending I wound up writing (something I wasn't intending to write just yet), I figured I'd better speed things up a bit. So, next chapter... Sasuke makes his first appearance, and Sakura finds her commitments tested. Oh... and the rating will be boosted to 'M' next chapter, since now allows M rated fanfics in their C2s. So, adjust your filters appropriately.

Special note: The 'net was down on my end last night, so I couldn't post it. Therefore, I'm posting it this morning... but don't expect another post until last night, so I can get the schedule 'reset' to where it should be. Besides, the next chapter is leaning towards a longer chapter (not a double length, I don't think, but we'll see).


	26. V3 Chapter 16

Volume 3

Notes: Regarding some questions as to whether Shikamaru would, believably, underestimate Naruto to that degree. Yes, I think he might -- as he did during the chuunin exams in canon. It wasn't so much that he 'overlooked' Naruto's pawns, as he was dismissing Naruto as not being able to come up with a good way to use those pawns, and so didn't bother to counter Naruto's movements until he realized it was too late. The biggest weakness of Shikamaru's strategies has always been that he relies on his opponents to act as he predicts they will... so, if he goes up against someone completely unpredictable (like Naruto), he's in serious trouble. He 'predicted' that Naruto wouldn't have enough experience with chess to realize just how valuable pawns were, and so saw what Naruto wanted him to see -- the pawns, he thought, were being moved out of the way, and not deliberately placed. Writing about this game was almost as much about Shikamaru's weaknesses as it was Naruto's tactics, but I don't THINK Shikamaru's weaknesses will become an important point in the future of this story. Possibly in the not-fully-plotted-out-and-yet-to-be-started side story, however.

Also about Shikamaru... his becoming an academy teacher is an anime-only filler. It has not happened in the manga, and so hasn't happened here. The current spate of fillers... are, um, crap, so I'm not going to include them as part of canon for purposes of the fic. (In fact, any filler episodes 101 or later are not to count as canon. That small part of episode 101 which was covered in the special manga (i.e., up to the Ichiraku incident) isn't exactly filler in my mind, but is located in a different timeframe -- in the manga, there shouldn't be any point after Kakashi and Sasuke recover where team 7 is working together. And filler episodes before 101... well, I don't remember any in particular, so they must have been blended in well enough for me not to notice, so I suppose they could be canon as well)

As I said I would do at the end of last chapter, I pushed the rating up to M, for innuendo and... other things. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 16

"...And that's what Hana-chan said I should do," Sakura was saying. She was eating lunch with Ino at a ramen joint -- one Naruto was _not_ known to frequent -- and the two were gossiping about a lot of things. Right now, the topic was Sakura's practice giving non-theraputic massages under the instruction of the only kunoichi in Blossom to have had any formal courtesan training -- a woman who, only a month before, she was suspecting of being a serious romantic rival. "I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be giving that 'happy ending' which Hana stressed was entirely optional, given my... situation, but the rest of it seems to make sense."

"So," Ino mused. "You seem to feel a lot better about Hana-_chan_ then you did a month ago, when you decided she was such a threat you had to move into Naruto's apartment in order to 'protect your claim,' as it were. Are you planning to move back in to my place any time soon?"

Sakura hesitated. Truthfully, she was enjoying her time at Naruto's -- there was a pleasant, 'domestic' air to living with him that Ino's apartment lacked. Still, it wouldn't do to become too comfortable... and, perhaps, she should move out of his place -- at least for a while -- after she finally gave him _the_ massage. It wouldn't do for him to be expecting too much, after that, and if she moved back out it would reduce temptations on both their sides.

"Maybe," she hedged. "Hana is really not as bad as I thought. I... I admit, I was a bit paranoid, there."

"A bit?" Ino shot back, incredulously.

"Okay, a _lot_ paranoid," Sakura admitted. "We'll see how this massage I've been training a month to give him goes, and decide then."

"So, when's the big night?" Ino asked, nudging her friend playfully.

"Well, we're both probably going to just want to collapse, after what we've got to do, tonight," Sakura sighed. "Hana-chan, Ebisu-san, and Genma-san asked us both to lead a practice session for their genin, if you recall correctly. Basic survival skills, nothing too fancy -- preparation for the chuunin exam, coming up in a couple months time. No sparring, just a lot of drills... tiring drills. We're going to be exhausted. Tomorrow night, though, we'll both have off -- we won't even have Academy classes to teach. Assuming no emergencies come up, I'll probably be willing to do it tomorrow."

Ino nodded. "Well... I hope you have a 'happy ending,' tomorrow, anyway." She dodged a swipe by her friend, then shrugged. "I'm off to give my class in Kunoichi training. Let me know how things turn out, okay?"

"I won't kiss and tell, so what makes you think I'll do something like _that _and tell, huh? And get your mind out of the gutter, Ino-pig -- you know why I'm not going to be doing anything like that, any time soon, right?"

"A girl can always hope," Ino laughed. "Good night, Sakura-chan."

"'Night, Ino-chan. See you soon."

Sakura returned to her bowl of ramen. She picked up one of the spiral-colored fishcakes her boyfriend was named for out of the bowl, staring at it for a moment. "What am I going to do with you, Naruto-kun?"

"What do you usually do with naruto?" the ramen dealer asked, startling her out of her thoughts. "You eat it!"

Sakura blushed. "I... um, I don't mean this naruto. I mean Naruto-kun, my boyfriend. You know, the blond ninja?"

The chef's eyes widened. "Oh, him. Sorry! Although I suggest you eat _that_ naruto, before it gets cold."

"Thanks," Sakura laughed.

"But you know," the chef said, stroking his short beard thoughtfully, a sparkle in his eye. "I think my advice might work, even if you are talking about the Naruto-kun who is your boyfriend."

There was a pause.

"PERVERT!"

That particular ramen stand went out of business shortly thereafter, unable to recover from the damages caused by the enraged kunoichi.

* * *

It was the night Sakura had said that she was giving _the _massage, and Ino was almost dying of curiousity. She'd spent some time seriously considering spying on them -- it would have been no challenge. All she would have had to do was find some unobtrusive animal, like a small bird or a squirrel, and put her mind in it. With that animal, she would have no problem looking into the windows surrounding Naruto's apartment -- including the one leading to Sakura's bedroom, which the girl had been setting up for the massage for weeks, now. However, knowing that Sakura had trusted her with the details -- and that meant _all_ of the details -- of her preparation for the event, Ino felt that to spy on them would be a violation of their now truly rebuilt friendship.

Sighing, she turned to her meal. Since Sakura left, Ino hadn't really felt like cooking for one. Instead, she'd been relying on take-out and diet frozen meals, none of which were especially appetizing, but which would keep her from starving to death. It was lonely, living in that apartment on her own, and she missed her friend... but she also refused to begrudge her the happiness she had with Naruto. However, maybe she should start cooking for herself, again -- this stuff tasted almost inedibly bad.

She picked it up, uneaten, and walked into the sink. Dumping the food into the garbage disposal, she sighed -- another meal skipped. She might be on an eternal war with fat, but she really needed to eat more then she did before she started looking anorexic. She rinsed the plate off, and turned to put it in the dishwasher. What she saw caused her to drop her plate. It shattered the moment it struck the ground, but Ino didn't care.

There, in front of her, stood the traitor to Konoha and the last of his clan (save, perhaps, for his brother... who he intended to kill) -- Uchiha Sasuke.

"Ino," he growled. Ino took a good look at him, and was astonished at what change the three years had rendered. Even at sixteen, his once raven-black hair was streaked with grey. Scars decorated his face, the visible parts of his arms, his hands, and everywhere else Ino could see. The biggest change of all, however, were his eyes -- one eye looked like the sharingan, but not like the one Ino remembered. The other eye, however... that was not the same eye Sasuke had left Konoha with. Instead, it looked an awful lot like the eye of a snake poised to strike, and she couldn't stand to look into it. She felt fear -- great fear... the same great fear Sakura had showed her from Orochimaru's attack. She pulled the necessary courage from the Naruto psyche inside of her, and used it to bolster her own, freeing her from the trance of fear. She couldn't win a fight with him -- she knew that, right away -- but she could stand up to him, if only for a minute. Long enough to attract attention, and long enough, perhaps, for help to arrive... if she needed it.

"Sasuke...kun," she answered back. Much to Ino's disgust, she realized the same affection she had felt for him back when they were both Academy students was still intact, and now that the fear was gone it was warring with her disgust at the boy. "This is a bit of a surprise."

"Don't play with me," Sasuke warned. "Or I'll kill you. I want one thing -- Sakura. Where is she?"

"Why do you think I know?" Ino asked, a small bit of challenge still in her voice.

"She's supposed to live here," Sasuke snorted. "Don't stall -- where is she?"

Ino took a moment to evaluate her options. She could lie... and Sasuke would probably kill her, find out she was lying, and then go demand an answer from someone else. She could stall, and he'd probably kill her and then go demand an answer from somebody else. Or... she could tell the truth. He'd probably kill her, but at least he wouldn't go seeking an answer from someone else, killing them as well.

She swallowed. And, if she told the truth... well, he'd be walking right to the two people most prepared to fight him. "She moved out," Ino explained. "She now lives in Apartment 6."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously, his sharingan spinning out of control. "That... is Naruto's apartment. Don't fuck with me, woman -- tell me where Sakura is!"

"I'm telling the truth!" Ino insisted. "She moved in with Naruto a month ago. They've been dating for a while..."

"That treacherous bitch!" Sasuke growled. He spun, and with a single step to build momentum darted out of her apartment through the window in which he came.

Ino was shocked to be alive. That feeling of attraction she'd had to the boy was gone the moment he left the room, and in its place there was a fountain of disgust -- both at him and at herself. She knew what sort of a person he was, now, so why was she so... fired up, when he appeared? And... what did he want with Sakura, anyway? She'd have to go warn someone, and let them know Sasuke was in Blossom and moving in on Naruto's apartment... as soon as she could move her knees, again.

* * *

"When I said strip, Naruto-kun," Sakura smirked playfully. "I meant your underwear, too."

He gaped at her. "But... Sakura-chan! I... I..."

She laughed, and had mercy on him. "Here," she said, tossing him a towel -- a small one. "You can wrap yourself up in that. I'm warning you now, though -- it's coming off during the massage."

"I never even let the brothel girl do that!" Naruto protested.

"I'm not the 'brothel girl' -- I'm the woman you told her you'd remain loyal to," Sakura pointed out, smiling slightly. When Hana explained that part of the procedure, she had wondered if he had allowed that woman to actually give him a true full-body massage. Apparently not, it seemed. "And I told you, before: I'm giving you the _best _massage you've ever had -- which means even better then the one she gave you. Which means... the towel comes off before the end."

Naruto, blushing as red as one of Sakura's blouses, wrapped the towel around his waist before pulling his underpants off. Sakura was mildly disappointed at the chance to 'check out' that particular part of him he would be hiding even after she removed the towel, but she supposed she'd have to allow him to have his privacy. She shouldn't be looking at that, anyway, if she really wanted to remain loyal to Sasuke.

"Um... okay, I'm ready," Naruto said nervously.

"Good," Sakura said, that smirk staying on her face. Yes, she was nervous about this, too, but she had long since come to terms with it... and decided to just enjoy it. "Lie face-down on the bed, and we'll get started."

As Naruto awkwardly crawled into the bed, trying to keep the towel around his waist as he moved. Sakura, in the meantime, took out the three bottles of massage oils she'd taken from Naruto's 'special' kit. She checked the instructions on all three oils, frowning as she considered which to use first. She noticed the rose water scent recommended heating, first, so she stuck it in the microwave she'd installed in her bedroom. With a smirk returning to her face, she decided to try the cinnamon oil first.

She pulled off her own robe, revealing the two piece set of lingerie she'd chosen for this occasion. She had to compete with whatever that prostitute had decided to wear when she gave Naruto a massage, after all... although she wasn't willing to strip completely naked -- that would be going a bit too far for her to maintain the personal belief that she was being loyal to Sasuke. Naruto couldn't see what she was wearing... but he'd feel it.

She straddled his back and bent down to whisper in his ear. "Don't squirm too much, or else this might not be too pleasant for you."

Naruto, lost in the feeling of silk and lace covering soft skin sliding along his back, could do little more then murmer, "Mm hm."

She took out the cinnamon oil, pouring a generous amount on her hands. A devilish grin on her face, she started rubbing the oil into the skin of his back. At first, she knew, it would seem awfully cold to him... but then the cinnamon would start acting, and she couldn't wait until that happened. Her movements were long and slow -- quite different from the medical massages she had been taught. They usually required quick blows or short rubs... which would be a little out of place, Hana had pointed out, in a sensual massage. No, she had to rely on the pressure of her hand to work out the knots and kinks -- which was okay, as she was quite strong. A strong, steady pressure, well-oiled hands, and long strokes starting at the small of his back and travelling up to his shoulders without pause was best... and that was what Sakura delivered. As her hands moved up his body, she bent over him, ending each stroke with a kiss to the back of his neck.

"How's that?" she asked softly, remembering that she was supposed to keep him talking -- get him very relaxed, but don't let him sleep. Heep him talking by asking him what he liked and what he didn't. Those were Hana's instructions, and Sakura would carry them out to the letter.

"Warm," was all Naruto said in response.

She knew what he meant -- while she'd done her best to keep the cinnamon oil on her hands, some had rubbed off of him as she bent over, and she could experience some of the same heating effect, herself. It was a pleasant heat, though -- a nice, dull, warming heat. It could easily become painful if it went somewhere... more sensitive, however. She was more thankful then ever that she'd kept the bra and panties on.

Naruto's towel was coming off, however -- she was done with his back, and it was time to move... lower. She lifted herself onto her knees and pulled the towel -- which she had been sitting on -- off of him in a slow, sensual movement. "Here we go," she said softly. "You don't mind me doing this, after all, do you?"

"Uh uh," Naruto replied, too far gone to care.

"I didn't think you would," she cooed. Sliding down to straddle his thighs, making sure he could feel her progress my letting her silk panties maintain contact the whole journey, she smiled. His rear end was pretty good -- well muscled, clean, and smooth. She reached over to the microwave, opening it and changing the cinnamon oil for the hot rose-scented oil. In this region of the body, the cinnamon oil was risking perhaps a bit too much, considering its properties.

The rose water oil, however, started just warm enough -- the instructions on the bottle for microwave heating seemed to be quite effective. She poured some into her hands and started, this time going from the bend of his knee, where her own thighs rested, up over the curves of his buttocks. It didn't take long to have him fully oiled up, and her trails reversed themselves -- she started from the back of his neck, bending over so far that her chest was rubbing into his back, and made her stroke go all the way down, to the inside of his thighs, then all the way down to where her legs were straddling his.

By this point, Sakura was feeling rather 'warm,' herself. She set the rose-water oil down, and grabbed the orange flavored oil. She stared at it for a long moment -- this would be the perfect oil, if she were to give him that 'happy ending.' It was designed to be tasted, unlike the other two oils... and she'd probably be tasting it quite a bit for that 'happiness' to be given. That, however, she could never do and claim she was still being loyal to Sasuke... but, the way she was feeling, she wondered if she should even care. Perhaps... perhaps she shouldn't, after all.

"Naruto," she whispered, a slight thrill entering her. Nerves were definitely at their peak, at this moment, and she stuttered a little at what she said next. "T-turn over... please."

Before he could respond, or before Sakura could change her mind, a loud crash broke into their thoughts. They both immediately knew what that sound was -- someone had broken down their front door. The mood ruined and both now on the alert, they darted off the bed as fast as they could. Sakura quickly grabbed her robe and tossed it to Naruto -- his complete nudity was her fault, so he had more right to it then she did -- and reached for a brace of kunai hanging on her wall. A second crash drew attention to the fact that the bedroom door was also broken open.

There, standing in front of them -- and witnessing possibly the most embarrassing scene Sakura had ever felt herself to see him in -- stood the object of her affection for many years. "Hello... Sasuke-kun," she said.

* * *

"Oh, thank god!" Ino cried, stumbling into perhaps the best person to help Naruto present. The only ANBU agent in all of Blossom, Uzuki Yuugao. "Ma'am -- there's a Konoha missing nin in the village! Uchiha Sasuke has come, and he's on his way to Naruto-dono's apartment as we speak!"

The ANBU cocked her head, then sighed. "I suppose it's my duty to do something about it. Go inform Kakashi-sempai -- I'll do what I can."

Ino blinked as she sped off. That was... not at all the response she was expecting. Still, better to do as the woman said, and find Kakashi. He'd be able to get the alarm out much faster then she would.

* * *

The half-naked Sakura and the barely dressed Naruto both realized just how bad a situation they were in after that first second. Sakura looked into Sasuke's eyes, noting with sadness that the mangekyou sharingan appeared to have been activated somehow -- which didn't make much sense, since Naruto was still alive -- and wondering about herself. _Where,_ she asked herself, _are those feelings I felt all those years ago? I've been holding tight to them for just this moment, but why aren't I able to feel them now? Why, when I need it the most, is my dedication to Sasuke-kun missing?_

"Sakura," the Uchiha nodded in greeting. "Dead last."

Naruto was on his guard -- and, unless Sakura missed her guess, the red behind his eyes indicated the kyuubi was as well -- but all three of them knew that Sasuke could kill them both if he wanted. Neither Sakura nor Naruto were prepared for an encounter like this, and Sasuke... was obviously stronger then either of them had believed possible in their worst fears.

"What do you want?" Naruto demanded, displaying his trademark bravado.

"I could care less about you," Sasuke replied unemotionally. "In the years since we last met, I have already found another dearest friend... and killed them."

Naruto stumbled back. "Wha--"

"I petitioned Orochimaru to allow me a chance," Sasuke began. "To fulfill my goals without becoming his container. He agreed, but the agreement was conditional."

"What were the conditions?" Sakura asked.

"He insisted he keep one of my eyes," Sasuke explained. "A sharingan eye, to be the hostage for my parole."

"But--"

"Sakura," Sasuke said, cutting off Naruto as he stepped towards the pink-haired girl. "Do you still love me unconditionally?"

Naruto stiffened. Sakura knew that what she had to say would hurt him, but she had no choice. She knew the consequences of her actions... and she had known this was coming for months. She had to say the words she had been rehearsing for what seemed to be her whole life. "Yes. I love Sasuke-kun. Unconditionally."

A slight smirk appeared on Sasuke's face. "Dead last, again, eh, Naruto? Once more, you lose to me."

Naruto clenched his fists, but remained where he was. Only his eyes showed the pain he was in, but he hadn't even flinched at Sakura's pronouncement.

Inner Sakura was broiling mad. _How can we stand by and let him do this to Naruto-kun? she asked her regular self. This is... is... cruel!_

_I know,_ Sakura replied in her mind. _But you know why we have to accept it. He... he's not in his right mind, remember that._

"Well," Sasuke began. "Now... I am ready to hunt down Itachi, but there is something I must do first. Do you remember what the only other goal I had in life was, other then to kill my brother?"

"Yes," Sakura replied. "You want to restore the Uchiha clan."

"Yes... and that requires that I have children," Sasuke pointed out. "So, tell me, Sakura... do you love me enough to help me restore the Uchiha clan? We could start right now -- you are dressed for it, after all."

Sakura was about to answer, but Naruto seemed unable to take it any more. "Wait!" he cried.

"Do you intend to stop me?" Sasuke asked, amused.

"If Sakura chooses to love you, to be with you," Naruto said, "Then I will not stand in _her_ way. If she doesn't, and you try something anyway... I'll kill you, even if I have to die to do it. Before she gives you that answer, though... I'm going to demand an answer to this: What does Orochimaru have to gain from you having a child?"

"Naruto, I'm impressed!" Sasuke sneered. "You do have a mind, after all. A very tiny one, but it seems you can think. Yes, he would not have let me pursue my own goals if he gained nothing from them, that is true. All I have to give up, if I wish to pursue my goals, is my first born to be raised as his container. But Sakura said she would love me unconditionally, didn't she?"

Sakura stiffened. "No, that's not what I said," she snapped, pulling out a pair of kunai. "I said I loved Sasuke-kun unconditionally. But you... you are not Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun would not have decided to sacrifice his own child for his goals. Sasuke-kun would not have just tried to make Naruto feel lower then low. Sasuke-kun would not have tried to kill Naruto-kun all those years ago. Sasuke-kun would not have left Konoha three years ago. Sasuke-kun, to whom I would be loyal to unto death... may never have existed."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said hesitantly, a little hopeful surprise in his voice.

"Still, I would have agreed to have your child. I know about the mangekyou, and I know how to cure it and the insanity that runs in your family," Sakura continued, eyes blazing. "But I will not sacrifice any child of mine to redeem the irredeemable. You call Naruto-kun a 'dead last?' Well, perhaps so... but only because he's the one who would be 'dead last' to abandon his friends, to give up, to do things the easy way when he knew it was wrong. You say Naruto lost to you? He didn't -- he kept a promise to me when he could have won his battle by killing you. You say Naruto has a tiny mind? I say anyone who's stupid enough to do the things you've done has _no_ mind! Get out, Sasuke... I never want to see you, again."

After a long moment, Sasuke shrugged boredly. "Whatever. I'd kill you for that, but I don't have the time -- it would be too troublesome."

With that, he was gone. Naruto started to run after him, but Sakura -- stung by Sasuke's emotionless departure but still retaining her senses -- grabbed the back of the robe he was wearing to hold him back. "No, Naruto-kun... don't."

"But... but I promised," he began. "I promised to bring him back to you."

"He came back on his own," Sakura pointed out. "Therefore, your promise to me is fulfilled. Now, I'm going to have you make a new promise in its place -- don't become like Sasuke. Don't abandon me for some hopeless crusade, don't lose yourself in pursuit of vengeance, and don't betray your principles and friends to achieve some meaningless goal. And pursuing Sasuke, now, would be a meaningless goal -- he isn't the Sasuke we knew, any more, and even if he was... we are in no condition to be chasing him, as poorly prepared as we are."

"I... I promise," Naruto replied. "But... Sakura-chan. What... what just happened?"

Sakura sighed, walking over to her closet. She opened it up and pulled out an old wooden box, opening it and pulling out a certain scroll. "It was all because of this," she said, walking over to him.

Naruto saw the word 'Mangekyou' peeking out around the hand that was holding the scroll. He knew that word -- that was what Itachi had used, wasn't it? "That... what is that scroll about?"

"This is part of my family history," Sakura explained, hesitating. "It tells of the time one of my ancestors fought a battle with a Uchiha wielding the mangekyou. It also is the only document on all of the strengths and weaknesses of the Uchiha clan that was not confiscated by the head of the Uchiha and hidden. It... explained a lot of things, and it told of a single way to save Sasuke. A way that... that I felt I was the only one capable of performing."

She handed Naruto the scroll and pointed to a certain spot. He began to read, squinting at the aged print. Frowning, he said, "Wait... is this saying... wait. This says, 'An Uchiha with a child will never inherit the insanity in the family; to remove the insanity, and halt the mangekyou, the affected Uchiha must concieve a child.' Does this mean... that if you had said 'yes,' Sasuke would be... himself, again?"

Sakura nodded. "That's what I thought," she replied. "The scroll goes on, discussing other related things -- how the males of the Uchiha clan would, until they turned eighteen, emit a pheromone that attracted all uncommitted women of marriagable age, how a technique only my family may use could counter the techniques enabled by the mangekyou... and how to make a medicine which will ensure conception that works only for virgins. I've been trying to... remain a virgin for a while now, so that I could still use it, to save Sasuke when I next saw him." She hesitated. "I... I've been dating you all this time, while still planning to have Sasuke's child."

Naruto nodded slowly. "I knew I was still second to Sasuke. So why did you say no?"

Now, tears started running down her face. "That's just it. I've believed, for the longest time, that I was in love with Sasuke. I... I grew to learn what love really was with you, but I still couldn't commit... because as long as I wasn't committed to you, those pheromones would have me love him, still, and I could take that drug-induced love, and make it grow into what I've been feeling for you recently. I had to imagine him as first in my heart, because... because I had made him a promise, a promise to make him happy. I felt I couldn't be worthy of you if I broke my promises, and the only way I could make him happy was if I was the one to cure him from his insanity..."

"Sakura-chan..."

"But it was all a lie!" she snapped, falling into a fetal position as she cried. "I was lying to myself, because I was trapped. I'd be breaking my promise to him if I fell in love with you... but I had! I was in love with you, dammit! And I had _already _committed myself to you, and didn't know it! I've been... I've been hurting both of us, because I couldn't let go of the fact that I couldn't fulfill my promise. I thought maybe I could still do it, even though I felt nothing when I just saw him... but he was treating you so cruelly. It wasn't even the thing about sacrificing his own child to Orochimaru -- by then, I'd already given up. The 'Sasuke-kun' I would have remained loyal to was gone, had probably never existed... and you were there, being called a stupid loser by the creature that had taken his place, yet staying by my side -- ready to protect me to the death, if need be. I... I... "

Naruto hesitated, then stepped over to the distraught girl. "Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"All I ever want is for you to be happy. I won't lie and say I was never hurt by you, but I always loved you anyway," he sighed. "But in the end, you chose me... even though you were going to get exactly what you've wanted for years. I... I can't tell you how much that makes _me _happy, Sakura-chan... so very, very happy!"

He pulled her into his arms, pulling her off the floor to sit beside him on the bed. They sat there as he let her cry on his shoulder, then took her with him as he leaned back to get more comfortable. Somewhere along the way, his robe parted, but niether of them noticed or cared. Sakura was still too overwhelmed with the enormity of the choice she had just made, and Naruto was too concerned with her to notice anything else.

"Um, are we interrupting anything?" Kakashi said, leading Hana, Jiraiya, Ebisu, Genma, and Ino through the broken door.

Sakura blinked, sitting up. Naruto stood as well, still unaware of the state of his robes. "Sasuke was here," he replied.

"We knew he was in town. Where did he go?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know," Naruto said. "I was going to follow him, but..."

"But I needed him here," Sakura finished for him. "We... weren't equipped for any kind of pursuit, nor any kind of battle. If he'd tried to chase him on his own, in his state, it would have been little more then suicide..."

Kakashi gave her a dry look. "Yes, I can see you aren't exactly equipped for a pursuit. Did Yuugao ever show up?"

"No," Sakura replied. "I haven't see Yuugao-sensei for a couple days, actually."

Kakashi nodded. "Okay. Naruto, Sakura, equip yourselves. Hana, Ebisu, Jiraiya-sama, Genma, and myself will check the village's surroundings, to see if we can track him. Ino, you and the rest of team seven will stay here, patrolling inside the village. If he's still here or if he doubles back, it will be your job to stop him. Go."

He nearly teleported away, he was moving so fast. Ebisu and Genma followed a moment later. Jiraiya, however, decided to take the time to leer at the scantily clad Sakura up and down. "Not bad, Naruto!" he said, giving the boy a thumbs up.

The couple both blushed, and Sakura clenched her fists in anger. She never got the chance to deliver the blow of righteous fury she was planning, as she was literally beaten to the punch.

"Pervert!" Ino and Hana chorused, slamming their fists into the old pervert's gut while he stood there. He went flying a few feet before collapsing into a heap on top of the broken door.

Hana, realizing their mistake, picked up the unconscious man with a sigh. "I'll get him out of here, Sakura-chan. By the way, good catch!" With that, she, too, disappeared in a puff of smoke, carrying her burden with her.

Ino, however, took the opportunity to ogle her best friend's boyfriend. "Hmm... you've grown up quite a bit, haven't you, Naruto-dono?"

"Huh?"

Sakura finally realized what was going on, and blushed even deeper. "Naruto! Your robe!"

He blinked, not understanding for a moment. Finally, he looked down, and saw that he was hanging open for all to see... and had been, in front of Ino, Hana, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and a couple other jounin. "Ack!" he cried, adjusting the robe as he darted out the door, turned, and ran into his own bedroom.

Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura's dress as well. "I think you'd better tell me everything that happened tonight... it certainly looks like things were quite interesting."

* * *

Uzuki Yuugao wasn't in the best of moods. Yes, she was still a powerful ninja -- she had spent every day, since the end of the Sand-Sound War, improving herself in the hopes of one day avenging her dead lover -- but she hated doing anything but train, any more. She wasn't even sure why she had fallen for Anko's speech about 'duty to Konoha,' save perhaps for the point that Hayate had died trying to keep Konoha safe, so obviously it was more important to him then his life... and so, if she truly loved him and wanted to be what he would have wanted her to be, she should protect Konoha with even more fervor then she'd have protected his life. Somehow, she got the feeling that Anko was speaking from experience, but the only man she had ever heard of in Anko's life was Orochimaru... who definitely wouldn't have been one of those who 'felt Konoha was more important then his own life.'

Yet here she was, doing her job and tracking down the traitor, Uchiha Sasuke. Not that she really had a chance if she found him. An Uchiha? With the Sharingan? Who also happened to be the apprentice of arguably the most powerful -- and most evil -- of the sannin? Yeah, like she stood a chance. Oh, well -- at least she'd be able to see Hayate again, after she was killed.

She had seen the boy leaving the apartment belonging to Naruto -- and, sometimes, to his girlfriend, Sakura -- and immediately set off to chase him. He'd long since outpaced her, but she was able to sense both his chakra trail and see some evidence of his path. As she leapt from tree to tree, however, a wire lasso caught her by the foot, pulling her down to the ground. Within seconds, she was fully tied up tightly in the wire. She couldn't escape, she knew that -- if she tried, the wire would start to cut her, and she'd die of blood loss before she could unravel herself. "Shit," she finally sighed.

"You're the ANBU, huh?" Sasuke asked. "Congrats -- you managed to chase me off before I could kill those two traitors."

Yuugao glared at him. "Why are they traitors? You're the one who left, you know."

Sasuke seemed to think about that for a moment, then laughed. It was not a pleasant sound, but rather a cruel one. "You're probably right," came his surprising answer. "I like you."

Much to her disgust, she found herself looking at him as she had Hayate -- at least on a purely physical level. He was quite the attractive boy, she knew, despite all the scars and pits. However, she was trained to resist this sort of temptation. "So what?" she asked bitterly.

"I can see in your eyes... you have the same look I once had. You want revenge on someone, but you're holding yourself back from seeking it. Why?" he asked, amused.

"My lover was killed by the Sand," Yuugao explained warily. "But we are no longer at war with the Sand, so I cannot attack his killer."

"You could if you were no longer part of Konoha," Sasuke pointed out. "I could help you... for a price."

"What is the price?" Yuugao asked, cautiously.

Sasuke smiled -- she was curious. He could convince her.

So the pink-haired slut preferred the idiot kyuubi-boy over himself. He'd chosen her largely because he figured she'd be easy, but it seemed she wasn't. However, he still needed an heir for the Uchiha clan, and this woman seemed to be of childbearing age...

A few minutes later, a team of dogs lead Inuzuka Hana to some cut wires, a cracked ANBU mask, and an abandoned forehead protector. She knew what it meant right away.

It appeared as if Blossom would have to report its first missing nin that evening.

* * *

Notes: You know, writing about a sensual massage is a lot harder then you'd think. The cinnamon oil, and its properties, I can speak about from experience -- sadly, not this kind of experience, but I had a martial arts instructor once who gave the stuff out to be used as a sports cream. Smells a lot better then any sports cream I've ever tried, and has much the same effect... but you had BETTER not get it in the wrong spot, or else it'll hurt like hell, and it tends to 'run' while sports cream will usually stay where it's put. I haven't found a good source of the same type of cinnamon oil since leaving that school, but if I could I would heartily recommend it. (You can find it both diluted and undiluted. Undiluted... well, I would never use it without diluting it, myself, first. Diluted is usually too diluted to be truly effective, however...)

I wrote and rewrote the confrontation between Sakura and Sasuke (and the conversation between Naruto and Sakura, afterwards) more than once. I'm still not happy with it, but at least I managed to include all the points I intended. I figured I didn't want to be hung up there, and kept going to the end of the chapter. I may be too hard on myself, because I can't seem to convey the mental image I have of that confrontation, but I apologize if it isn't up to my usual standard of writing. I'm rather upset, because I've been building up to that moment for quite a while now, and it feels like it fell flat. Ah, well... so be it.

I was considering censoring this chapter for I showed the massage scene to a few people, asking them if they believed that it was 'too much' for policies. The answers I got mostly said it was fine (although there were one or two who made a couple suggestions for deletions), but removal policy is so crazy who knows. I decided, after reading what those people thought, that I would send it out uncensored. If kills it, well, I'll repost it and censor this last chapter. I've also decided to post it on mediaminer, so you might be able to find it there as well. If I ever DO censor a chapter, I'll post the uncensored version to mediaminer. For the moment, however, this is uncut, too.

Next chapter: The aftermath of Sasuke's visit when the search parties return to Blossom.


	27. V3 Chapter 17

Volume 3

Notes: Somehow, changing the rating removed me from all fifteen C2s that have listed this fic. If you had a C2 listing this fic and still wanted it listed, you're going to have to relist it. Sorry -- didn't know that would happen.

* * *

Chapter 17

Kakashi sighed, reading the reports from the previous evening's excitement. He'd had Ino, Naruto, Sakura, and Hana all write up everything they knew of the previous night, and was looking over it all now. He wasn't happy, that was for sure.

It wasn't that Naruto and Sakura's reports were censored. He had a fairly good idea just how and why they had refused to mention certain things, after all, and believed that those things wouldn't have been omitted if either truly believed that there was a chance those details would help them to catch Sasuke. Nor was it that Uzuki Yuugao had -- apparently -- left to become a missing nin, as well. That was bad, true, but it wasn't entirely unexpected -- she had been a bit of a flight risk since the end of the Sand-Sound War, and so it didn't come as a surprise.

No, the reason he was so upset was that he'd learned that Sasuke now had the mangekyou... and so, consequently, did Orochimaru. That, alone, would make the dark sannin even more dangerous... but, apparently, she was willing to risk Sasuke's body now that he had it. Which, of course, would mean the man was that much more powerful... which would put him even further beyond the reach of just about any ninja in the world. Uchiha Itachi could, in theory, still beat him... but Itachi, also, was an enemy. Jiraiya... might have been able to beat him in his prime, but he wasn't in his prime any more. He might not quite be 'over the hill,' but he was close. Kakashi had already proven to himself that he was hopeless against the sannin. Tsunade was... not a combat specialist, despite her great skill in that department as well, and so likely wouldn't beat him in a fight.

The only hope appeared to be Uzumaki Naruto, himself... but the boy wasn't ready yet. Likely, he wouldn't be for several years... and who in the world knew if they would even have several years in which to try and prepare? Something had to be done, and soon. Well, what could he do? Just... prepare Naruto for the job, that was all.

But then, he'd been instructed to prepare Naruto for more than one job, hadn't he?

* * *

It had been a long night before the jounin had returned, allowing Ino, Naruto, and Sakura to finally get some sleep. As Naruto's apartment had been wrecked, all three marched over to Ino's and proceeded to split up -- Ino to her bedroom, and Naruto being dragged -- to his surprise -- into Sakura's. Nothing had 'happened,' during their sleep, save for the two of them holding each other, but it still astonished Naruto to no end that Sakura allowed it.

It was the 'morning after,' though -- or rather, afternoon after -- and all three of them were eating their first meal of the day. Ino had cooked, making three hearty servings of beef bowls. It wasn't exactly her best dish, but it was edible and it was probably better at filling them up then, say, ramen, which was what Naruto had suggested. They ate in relative silence, although Ino kept sending teasing glances over at Sakura and Sakura was blushing non-stop. Naruto was too obsessed with eating to notice the byplay between the two girls.

"By the way," Ino commented casually, wiping her mouth. "Aren't you both late for work?"

"Kakashi gave me the day off," Naruto said, taking his bowl into the kitchen hoping to find enough for seconds. "Although I do have to see him sometime tonight."

"The hospital shouldn't need me, today," Sakura pointed out. "If they do, I've told them where I'll be. I've got a class to teach this evening, but I'm free until then."

Ino shrugged. "I'm off, too -- I was planning on using the day to catch up on my training, but I think I'm just going to relax instead. I heard there's a new day spa that's opened up recently... maybe I'll go get a _massage._"

Sakura twitched. "Oh?"

"Yeah," she said, standing up and stretching. "Now, I realize you and Naruto might want to _talk_ for a bit, but please remember that I like clean sheets, so stick to your own bedroom, okay? Bye!"

With a cheeky little wave, she darted out of the apartment. Sakura fumed ineffectually, too tired to actually do anything to the blond girl before the door had closed behind her. With a sigh, she sat back into her seat, her chopsticks picking at the few grains of rice she had yet to eat. She had a lot to think about, and a lot to talk to that boyfriend of hers -- the one she'd realized she was committed to the night before. The one who she now realized she loved. The one she had _thought _she would have to betray that same night. The one she had dragged into her bed before going to sleep...

That she'd committed herself, already, had come as a bit of a surprise. As she tried to think of just when she had, finally, decided that staying with Naruto was worth more to her then saving Sasuke, she realized that it had been that very night. The moment she had asked Naruto to 'turn over,' she had given up on being loyal to Sasuke... and the moment she had decided that, she'd bound herself to the path of being with Naruto. If Sasuke had shown up only a minute earlier, would she be here right now? She was happy that she was, but... she had to wonder. However, she was committed to Naruto, now, and she had to accept that. Obviously, this 'commitment' might not be permanent -- people got killed, divorced, had affairs, and so forth long after they'd 'committed' themselves to someone else. However, she had a funny feeling it was a bit stronger with this boy -- like once she crossed that line, it would never be possible to turn back.

That she loved the boy, she had known for a few weeks, now. It had made things that much more painful for her, as she'd considered what to do when Sasuke had finally showed himself. She had accepted it, before, and was actually quite pleased by the development now that the monkey of her impending betrayal of that love was off her back.

The possible betrayal gave her a lot to think about -- for example, why hadn't she at least talked with someone, before, about the situation with the mangekyou? Her mother, who undoubtedly knew of the scroll's existence, if not its contents, would have been able to advise her better on what to do. Ino might have better gauged Naruto's reactions, and should have understood Sakura's desire to help Sasuke -- she, too, had been infatuated with the boy, once. Naruto, himself, might have been able to help -- he might have been hurt less if he knew why she'd considered leaving him for the other boy.

The thing which most disturbed her, however, was the fact she had literally pulled him into her bed when they had finally been allowed to go to sleep. They were both too tired for any sort of love-making, but she'd been unwilling to lose the chance to cuddle him. It wasn't like he wouldn't have been able to sleep on the couch in the living room or something -- in fact, that was the idea as they were coming over. But... once she saw him, there, starting to move to the sofa... the temptation was too great. She had to have him with her... and that was what worried her. She loved Naruto, but without any obstacles in the way of thier love how much longer could she control herself? She'd already slipped, once, when she had the burden of Sasuke to consider. But now... how much longer would she remain a virgin?

It wasn't that she wanted to remain a virgin forever. In fact, she was pretty sure she wanted to be married before she was twenty -- she had _no_ desire to go through courtesan training, after all. Even if there were one or two techniques she wanted to learn from it -- like the massage Hana had taught her -- she didn't want to deal with the embarrassment courtesan training typically caused most kunoichi. She didn't think a truly married couple would remain virginal for more than a single night, if they had any choice in the matter, so she'd pretty much resolved to end her virginity before she was twenty. However, she still had wanted to wait -- just for a couple years, so she could continue to be just a 'girl' and not quite a 'woman' for a while, still. To save the dream that was Sasuke, she'd been willing to sacrifice much, including those hopes. Naruto, however, would allow her anything she wanted -- she'd have to sacrifice nothing for him -- so she should be able to wait, just like she'd planned... only her body was betraying her mind. Last night, she'd have been willing to give up her virginity -- not to Sasuke, for some 'noble' goal of bringing back the last of the Uchiha, but to Naruto, because... because he'd been so tempting.

Naruto, his bowl only half-filled, sat down across from her. Although he'd been pouting because there weren't as many leftovers to eat as he'd hoped, he gave her a happy smile the moment he saw her. "Hey, Sakura-chan -- you look a little wierd. Is something wrong?"

Sakura blinked at him. "Um... no, not really," she said. "Nothing is _wrong,_ anyway. I'm just... trying to make sense of a few things."

"Like what?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of rice, egg, onion, and beef.

"Like us," Sakura sighed. "Naruto, until now, the idea of Sasuke has been holding me back from... doing certain things with you. Things I may want to do with you one day, but not yet. Now... I'm afraid of myself, almost. I don't want to go backwards, now that I know where I'm going, but... I'm worried about going too fast."

"Huh?" Naruto said.

Sakura blinked. Okay, maybe she had to be a bit more explicit. "I'm not ready to have sex, yet."

"Oh, is that all?" Naruto laughed. "Hey, I won't push anything. You know that!"

"It's not you I'm worried about," Sakura muttered. "Naruto... I think I want to move out of your place for a while."

"Well, of course!" Naruto snorted, although his voice cracked slightly indicating his dismissal was at least partly just bluster. "It'll take a while to fix up your room, so--"

"I don't mean 'until things are fixed,'" Sakura sighed. "I love living with you, Naruto. I've never been somewhere which said 'home' more, to me -- even when I was living with my parents as a little kid -- but I'm not sure I'm ready to be in that 'home.' And it's not because I'm afraid you'll ask something of me I don't offer you myself... it's that I'm worried I'm going to offer something I'm not ready to give."

Naruto frowned. "But... if you offered it, wouldn't you be ready for it?"

"Not necessarily," Sakura sighed. "I... I was about to get carried away, last night, with the massage -- and that was with Sasuke looming over my shoulders. With nothing holding me back, now, what's to say I won't get carried away, and do something I'm not ready for? I... I don't want to regret it, when that happens... do you understand?"

Naruto scratched his head. "No... but that's okay. I don't need to understand that -- I just need to understand that you feel you need to leave, and accept it."

Sakura winced. "No, Naruto -- you need to understand more than that. You have to understand that I'm moving out because... because I'm in love with you, and that I fully intend to move back _in_ with you when I'm ready to, um, take that love to its natural conclusion."

"You mean, when you're ready to have sex, right?" Naruto said, chomping down on another biteful of gyudon.

Sakura twitched. "You don't need to be so blunt, Naruto... but, I guess you're sort of right."

Naruto dropped his chopsticks in the now empty bowl in front of him and scratched the back of his head. "Hey, I don't mind. But what about Ino? I mean, you moved in because you couldn't deal with Ino, right? And I could tell she was pushing you a bit, today, too -- I could see she was bugging you last night, and you were blushing all through lunch, so..."

Sakura hesitated -- she hadn't really moved into his place because of Ino in the first place, but rather because of Hana -- who she was fairly convinced was no longer a threat -- but it was true she had to consider why she'd occasionally slept over at his place, before. "Maybe I'll come over some days, when it's really bad here... but only to sleep, and only in a seperate bedroom. But... I don't think I'll be giving you any massages any time soon, and I'm not going to bring you to my bed like I did last night for a while. We'll still go out to dinner, and go on dates, and... I'm not breaking up on you! I promise!"

Naruto laughed. "Well, I didn't think you were -- not after last night! Don't worry, Sakura-chan -- like I said, I may not understand everything, but I understand enough. Now... since I'm not worried about that, what else is making you so unhappy?"

Sakura smiled at him. Yes, he was clueless sometimes, and that could easily frustrate her, but that didn't matter -- Naruto would always be Naruto, which meant that he would always be devoted to her, no matter what she did to him. However, there wasn't much he could do about this one. "You can't help on this one. I'm worried about Yuugao-san -- I'd just gotten Anko-san to help me in bringing her out of her shell, and she is immediately taken in by Sasuke. I suppose I'm a bit concerned that I might have had something to do with her disappearance."

She was right -- Naruto didn't know how to help with that one. "I didn't really know her... but you might talk to Kakashi-sensei -- he once told me he worked with her while he was in ANBU."

"Really?" Sakura replied. "I didn't know that. Maybe I will -- at least he might know more about why she left. And I need to talk with him about my genjutsu training, anyway..."

"Oh, I'll ask him about that," Naruto said, standing up. "I need to go see him soon, anyway. What'll you be doing while I'm gone?"

Sakura shrugged. "I dunno -- I've got a class to teach tonight. Maybe I'll spend part of it helping repair your apartment -- I helped put it together the first time, after all, if you remember."

Naruto smiled slightly. "You might want to clean up your bedroom, too -- who knows what any guests would think, the way we left it."

Thinking of the likely spilled massage oils and lingerie scattered all over the floor of her bedroom at Naruto's, Sakura blushed. "Um, right. Why don't you head on over to see Kakashi? I'll... go clean up."

* * *

Sakura arrived at Naruto's apartment and looked around at all the damage. It was worse then she'd realized the night before -- the front door had been literally shattered, and splinters were everywhere. There was no repairing it -- scorch marks indicated some sort of fire technique had been used in the blast, and in fact there was smoke damage on the walls and cieling. At the minimum, the entire living room and cieling would have to be repainted. The floor was in a state, as well, but it looked cleanable at least. Sakura winced at the thought of just how much work it would take to fix everything.

She knew that her bedroom wasn't in quite as bad a shape -- the door should be repairable, at least, as she knew he had just kicked down that door instead of blasting it with fire. Perhaps she should start there -- she might be able to finish her bedroom before she'd have to leave for class that night.

It wasn't until she'd stepped into her room that she noticed she wasn't the only one in the apartment. A very large dog was sniffing around the spilled bottle of rose water oil, and Sakura knew what that meant. "Hana? Are you here?"

"Just a minute!" she heard coming from the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of a toilet flushing and a set of soft, padded footsteps heralded the arrival of the older woman. "Sakura-chan! Hi!"

"Hana-san," Sakura greeted, a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Forensics," Hana snorted. "Normally, an ANBU would be doing this, but... well, we don't have any ANBU any more, so Kakashi-san asked me to do the investigation. Kuromaru?"

The dog snorted. "Sasuke had no scent on this substance. It has nothing to do with his appearance here."

"Outside of making me spill it," Sakura replied, blushing. "I knocked it off the bed trying to go for my kunai after the front door was blown off the hinges."

Hana picked up the bottle, looking at it closely with a slight smirk. "Hmm... massage oils. _Very_ high quality massage oil -- I think this brand only sells to professional services. Just how did you get your hands on this, Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto got it," Sakura replied, blushing slightly. "It was a gift to him during his training trip with Jiraiya-sama."

Hana raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... you sure about that boy? I've heard some... interesting things about him, and I'm not sure I'd be all that happy about him having recieved a 'gift' like this."

"That gift," Sakura pointed out, "Is what finally convinced me want to date him. He got that gift because he insisted on being loyal to _me_ when Jiraiya gave him a trip to the brothel for his fourteenth birthday. He said the prostitute was so impressed with his loyalty that she gave him a gift."

"A likely story," Hana snorted. "I wouldn't believe a guy who told me something like that."

"This was Naruto talking," Sakura pointed out, a sharp stare directed straight into Hana's eyes. "I won't say he can't lie -- he is a ninja, after all, and a pretty good one -- but he wouldn't lie about _this._ I _know_ he was telling me the truth."

"Um... okay," Hana agreed hesitantly, backing up a step. "I... I suppose he might have been telling the truth. I admit, I have noticed that he's a bit different from most guys I know."

"He's had a very hard life," Sakura pointed out. "He wouldn't lie, because he wouldn't risk hurting me if I ever found out the truth. There was one thing he admitted the girl did to him, though..."

"Let me guess," Hana said, shaking the broken bottle of rose-water oil. "A sensual massage?"

"Yeah," Sakura said. "I told him I was aiming to give him a better massage then she did. When I pointed out I needed him completely nude, he said even she hadn't had his underwear off -- so I think I managed it. Or I would have, if Sasuke hadn't shown up and spoiled it all."

"So that's why you were so interested in knowing _all _the tricks I'd been taught," Hana laughed. "Did he get the 'happy ending?'"

"No," Sakura replied grimly. "I wasn't planning to give him one."

"I sense a 'but,' there," Hana said with a smirk.

"I changed my mind, seconds before Sasuke showed up," Sakura sighed. "It... probably saved me."

"Huh?"

Sakura frowned, then pulled the Mangekyou scroll out from where she had dropped it the night before. "There's some info in my family scrolls about the Uchiha bloodline which has been... _hidden_ by their late representatives to the council. I've been keeping these things secret, myself, because I'd been hoping to maybe redeem Sasuke at some point... which I now realize was just a fools dream. Now, I think I'll be writing some of them down, so that we'll be better prepared to face him in the future."

"I... don't understand," Hana replied. "What does this have to do with you being saved last night?"

"There's a note in this scroll that unattached Uchiha males produce a pheromone which attracts all women of a marriagable age... if they aren't committed in another relationship. The moment I decided to give Naruto that 'happy ending,' I committed myself." Sakura sighed. "Another case where Naruto saved my life, probably, only I don't think he knew he was doing it at the time."

Hana laughed. "Well, as life-saving activities go, I'd probably say that was one of the more pleasant ones I've heard of. But those scrolls... do you think you can copy them before the end of the day?"

"Well, the relevant parts, sure," Sakura agreed. "Why so soon?"

"Well, Kakashi-san told me about certain plans we've had in mind..."

* * *

"Ah, Naruto, there you are," Kakashi said, peering over the stack of papers on his desk. "We've got a few things to talk about."

"Yeah, I've got a few things I wanted to ask you, too," Naruto said, taking a seat and kicking his feet up onto his own desk. One thing he liked about his job in Blossom -- he had a very nice place to get off his feet. "Like training -- Sakura-chan says that with Yuugao-san gone, she doesn't know where to go for her genjutsu training. I was hoping you would be able to do it for her, while I'm working with ero-sennin."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I would if I could, but... at least for a few months, I won't be able to."

"Huh?"

"It's a good thing the messenger service is working," Kakashi sighed, "Because I'd been ordered to send word to Tsunade-sama the moment we heard about Sasuke, so I sent a message the second I left your apartment. Orders were waiting for me the moment I got back home -- I'm to try and determine where he's going, which means I'm going to be gone for a while. A team of four jounin from Konoha will be arriving tomorrow morning, and I'll be taking command of them to begin pursuit operations."

"I guess the old hag isn't sending a bunch of genin out to do what really needed a couple teams of jounin, this time," Naruto sighed. "What about me?"

"You can't come," Kakashi said. "You've got a more important job then just adding firepower to this mission. The mission's duration is for three months -- if I can't find him right away, I've got three months to look for him. Which means I'm going to be gone too long for Blossom to be without a leader... and guess what? You're the leader."

Naruto blinked. "But... what about the closet pervert, and the puppy lady, and ero-sennin, and Genma-san, and Anko-san, and--"

"Chain of command," Kakashi explained, interrupting. "They're all outside of the chain of command. I thought I explained this to you when we first came here..."

"But... I didn't think I'd be a leader for real!" Naruto exclaimed. "I mean... I figured you just meant when you wanted to take a day off, and that you'd still be around. But three months, on my own? I... wow!"

"Obviously, you've got some restrictions on your power I wouldn't have," Kakashi explained. "You couldn't, for example, go to war on your own -- though I suppose, if you were attacked or recieved orders from Konoha, you might be allowed. The hokage would probably want to send a replacement, in that case. Remember, we aren't really equipped for anything more than a c-ranked mission. Anything harder than that, and you'll have to refer it over to Konoha. You'll have administrative control, of course, but there's not much for you to do in that regard outside of rubber-stamping a few things. Oh, and you might want to pick one of Hana's genin to use as your second-in-command. You, more than anyone, know just how valuable it is to have an assistant in this job, being an assistant yourself."

"Hm," Naruto said, his eyes squinting in thought, his hand rubbing the underside of his chin. Kakashi recalled seeing him act like this, before, when someone was telling him something that went over his head and he was too embarrassed to ask about it.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Naruto smiled. "This is like being a junior hokage, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "I suppose you could put it that way, although the hokage usually has to deal with a lot more then you will in this job."

Suddenly, Naruto jumped up and cheered. "Yay! Another step towards being hokage!"

Kakashi shook his head. Well, after being a 'junior hokage' for a few months, maybe Naruto would learn just how bad being hokage could be. At the very least... he'd get some experience at the job.

* * *

Notes: Those of a culinary mindset may wonder at the inclusion of egg in the beef bowl (gyudon), since traditionally no egg is included in the recipe. Well, it CAN have egg in it, and the first time I ate it I ate gyudon with egg. Therefore, I have a hard time thinking of it without the egg, and decided Ino might include one, too. If you cook Japanese food, and are insulted by its inclusion (and I've known a few people who WOULD be insulted by my mentioning that), my apologies -- just imagine it without the egg.

No update tomorrow, and possibly not Sunday either. I've got guests visiting this weekend so I won't have as much time to write, although I will try to write some. We'll see, I suppose. When I do get around to another chapter, however, Naruto will take the reigns of Blossom.


	28. V3 Chapter 18

Volume 3

Notes: For readers: Just another reminder for C2 owners and admins, I've been kicked off of the lists because I had to switch the rating. I did have fifteen C2s linking this fic, and only three have added me back so far. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of you no longer want to keep this fic in your listing (because of the ratings change, or because I ruined it somehow in your mind, or because you've just already lost interest in running a C2, etc.), but somehow I suspect that some of you just haven't realized I've been kicked off your list, yet.

For readers on Mediaminer: There appears to be a formatting issue. All formatting, including blank lines between paragraphs, indents, etc., is wiped out when I upload to Mediaminer. I'm not sure what's going on or how to fix it -- for now, you'll just have to deal with it. (It's worse then the problems I was having with new formatting system, to be honest)

* * *

Chapter 18

Naruto grinned. Kakashi and the five other jounin -- none of which he knew -- had just left... and now, he was in charge. He was the 'junior hokage' of Blossom, and he couldn't be happier. Sakura hadn't exactly seemed all that surprised that he'd been allowed to take such an important job, although she was very happy for him. She was now dealing with some work at her hospital, but she'd said she would be bringing him a celebratory lunch that afternoon... but right now, the office was all his. He had taken a few spins in his chair and did a few other of the silly things he'd always wished he could do in Kakashi's chair, but now he was actually interested in getting down to business. Most of that business involved 'rubber-stamping' a number of forms and the like, but he knew there were some interesting things, too -- even in just the paperwork. After all, it was his job, now, to approve missions and the like... and a half-dozen requests had just come in. He was supposed to read the forms and see which ones were worth calling the customers in for an interview -- he'd have to decide which missions to approve, assess which class it deserved to be rated, figure out which ones had priority, how much to charge for each mission, and which team to assign to each mission. He would have to get to know each of the teams better, as well, so that he could figure out which teams were ready for any sort of class C missions, which teams could handle non-combat C class missions, and so forth. Naruto may have been a bit of a dunce in school, but he'd been preparing for the job of hokage for most of his life, so he'd spent years figuring out how to handle the paperwork involved in the job. Now, he'd finally get a taste of the job he'd covetted for so long.

He'd already seperated the 'interesting' paperwork from the 'rubber-stamp' paperwork while he was waiting for Kakashi to leave, and had decided to get the rubber-stamp stuff out of the way as soon as possible. He was a bit surprised to note that it really involved a rubber stamp -- or, at least, a stamp: namely, his hanko. He had to use his hanko to stamp his signature over each document... although he did spend a second or two skimming each paper -- he wanted to know what he was putting his name to, after all.

He was only a few sheets from finishing his rubber stamping when there was a knock on his door. "Come in," he said. He looked up, a smile on his face, expecting to see Sakura coming in with his lunch. However, it wasn't his girlfriend making a lunch delivery coming through that door.

"Naruto-dono," Hana said, smirking. Naruto had been warned by Kakashi that the 'proper' address for him from the other jounin was 'dono,' as he was their commander despite being outranked by them, and he could put on report for insubordination any jounin who didn't address him with the suffix, or any genin who didn't call him 'sama.' Naruto, of course, hadn't cared -- he almost never used those titles, anyway, so he wouldn't complain if someone else wanted to, either.

"Puppy lady! Hey, what are you doing here?"

Hana twitched. "You know, Naruto-dono, you've been calling me that for a while, now. I never have liked it, and never will... but could you please call me by my real name when we're conducting official business?"

"Nah," Naruto said, waving her off. "If I did that, ero-sennin and the closet pervert would demand the same thing, and I'm not going to stop with them. Sorry, Hana-chan."

She sighed. "Well, I suppose I'll deal with anything, as long as I can still occasionally see that pervert Jiraiya's face whenever you call him 'ero-sennin,'" she said. "Anyway, Kakashi-san directed me to come talk with you about my team -- he said something about you needing one of my genin?"

"Oh, yeah," Naruto exclaimed, remembering what he'd been almost too excited to take in from the previous days conversation. "He said I should get an assistant. I wanted Konohamaru-chan from the closet pervert's team, but Kakashi pointed out to me that his team is better to send out on missions then yours is at the moment. With him gone, Hanabi is needed more than ever to help Adaha-chan with his doujutsu."

Hana sighed. "Actually, I'm getting rather annoyed at being stuck here in town. You do recall that our pay is supplemented by the commissions we recieve on these missions we're not getting, right?"

"Yeah, but your team is getting an extra stipend to make up for it," Naruto pointed out, holding a sheet of paper. "I authorized it just today, although apparently Kakashi-sensei's been pushing it for weeks. But you'll get some missions, too -- just not until after Adaha's class graduates."

"That won't be for almost seven months," Hana grumbled.

"It would be ten months if we weren't pushing the students so hard," Naruto pointed out. "But getting that first class of genin out the door is apparently this village's number one priority, at the moment. Kakashi-sensei finally showed me the briefing book for this place, and this village has to wait until they graduate before we're considered a 'self-sustaining' village, whatever that means. So getting that class of students out is more important then having another team capable of doing missions. Especially since our mission load is so low, apparently."

Hana nodded. "Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. So... you need an assistant from one of my genin, huh?"

"Yeah. I was thinking about your cousin, the puppy girl. She fought well and has a good attitude, so I kinda like her," Naruto grinned. "What do you think?"

The young woman hesitated. "Well... she might be able to do it, but Futaba-chan probably wouldn't like the job. She's much too attached to the outdoors, like I am, and would feel trapped if she had to take an office job like this one."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Hm. But who else on your team would be good for it? That Daichi guy, perhaps?"

"No, he needs to train too badly to spend time, here," Hana sighed. "I think you should take the Hyuuga girl."

Naruto's face darkened immediately. "You don't mean that Hanabi chick, do you? She's... I don't want to work with her! She's evil!"

Hana snorted to keep from laughing. "Yeah, I suppose she is. Actually, though, this job would probably be good for her. She's a problem child because she has all the power in the world -- she's the likely heir of the Hyuuga clan with Hinata being at odds with the chieftans of the main family, she's got almost as much potential as that Neji boy for prowess as a ninja without the restrictions of being a branch family member, and she was the number one rookie of her class of genin. Yet, with all that power, she's never had to be responsible for anything -- the Hyuuga clan had tried for many years to work with Hinata before finally giving up on her, so they never bothered teaching Hanabi anything. In essence, she's a spoiled brat. However, if you actually start making her responsible for some things, maybe she'll start to learn a bit and she won't be quite so, um, 'evil' any more."

Naruto hemmed and hawed for a bit. Finally, though, he collapsed back into his chair. "All right, puppy lady. If you really think Hanabi's the best choice, send her here tomorrow. I suppose I'll have to talk with her."

Sakura chose that moment to enter the room, carrying a couple bags full of food. "Oh, Hana-chan!" she said, a bit startled. "What are you doing here?"

"Kakashi-sensei said to pick a member of her team to act as my assistant," Naruto explained before the woman could answer. With a grimmace, he continued, "The puppy lady, here, is trying to convince me to pick Hanabi."

Sakura started to unload her burden on a relatively clean portion of Naruto's (temporary) head desk. "Hmm... well, I suppose she could do it. I'm not sure I'd want her, with that attitude."

"I think she'd learn a lot from the job," Hana repeated. "Maybe it would give her something of an attitude adjustment."

Digging through a bag for the chopsticks, she shrugged. "Well, Naruto's typical method of giving people attitude adjustments -- beating them senseless and hope they learn something by it -- didn't work. Maybe this would, though."

"Hey! I do more than that!"

"True, you usually try to talk with them while you're beating them up," Sakura admitted, not looking at him to hide the teasing smile on her face. "I guess the fight with Hanabi-chan was too quick for that."

Naruto frowned. "Hey, I got Zabuza to change without beating him up! Yeah, sure, he died a minute later, but I did it!"

"Kakashi-sensei had already beaten him up for you," Sakura pointed out.

"The old hag! I talked her into becoming hokage and never beat her up!" _In fact, she beat me up,_ he recalled wryly.

"Hm," Sakura mused. "I suppose that counts. There was some fighting involved, though, right? Didn't she have you learn that rasengan technique, first?"

"Uh, yeah..." Naruto replied.

"So maybe you don't always beat them up. Fighting's still involved all the time, though, isn't it?"

Naruto wondered about that. "Well... actually, fighting's part of just about every aspect of my life. Even with you, huh? I mean, we fight together all the time, right?"

That was unexpected. "Er... well, we are a team," she agreed hesitantly.

He gestured to Hana. "And I'd never have gotten to know the puppy lady, here, if it hadn't been for that little tournament of ours. And I had to leave for those two and a half years to prepare for a fight. And I became a prankster to learn how to fight. And--"

"I get the idea," Sakura interrupted.

Hana, though, was amused. "Hmm... I seem to recall you have a bit of a reputation for loving ramen. What part of fighting has to do with ramen, then?"

"Simple!" Naruto chirped. "That's what I spend the money I make fighting on!"

Sakura twitched. "I certainly hope that won't always be the case," she said. "I'm not planning on footing the bill for all of our dates, you know."

"Erm," Naruto hesitated, remembering just how much of his pay he'd set aside for the Ichiraku. "Well, I use my money for other things, too. I'm not in debt or anything, but I usually don't earn much money without saving some from a commission. Although maybe I'm actually making a little, now that I'm a chuunin -- I haven't checked in with my bank since a couple days after my promotion."

Sakura blinked. "You haven't? How have you been paying for things since you got here, then?"

Naruto pulled a little frog purse out of his back pocket. It looked half full. "I've still got a few thousand ryou from the last time I went to the bank. I usually fill up my froggy, here, and that'll last me for a few months. It's actually holding out longer then usual here in Blossom."

"Things cost less, here," Hana pointed out. "And, since you haven't had to go out on a real mission since we've arrived, you probably haven't had as many expenses trying to get your supplies together."

"Oh, yeah," Naruto said, surprise in his voice. "I guess that would explain it."

"Speaking of money," Hana began, "Just what is the budget here? Kakashi-san kept telling me that he'd show me the paperwork, but he never got around to it."

"Why are you so interested?" Sakura asked cautiously, intercepting any response Naruto might have made.

"Mostly just curiousity," Hana explained, "Although I need to learn economics, some time. My mother's retired to take the clan's spot on the council, which means that I'm supposed to take charge of the finances of the Inuzuka when I finally can return to Konoha -- it's tradition, in our family, for the highest ranking active ninja to take that role."

That seemed plausible. Sakura didn't really suspect Hana of anything, but the interest in finances seemed a bit odd... and so was her former teacher's refusal to show them. "So, why did Kakashi-sensei hide them from you?"

Naruto, who had already pulled out the document detailing the budget from the files, coughed. "Um, probably because he'd screwed thing up... badly."

Sakura blinked. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

He pulled out the small stack of papers representing all of the financial information on Blossom. Then he pulled out the copy of the briefing book Kakashi had given him before leaving. "It's simple. When we left Konoha, we were supposed to be given a grant from Wave large enough to keep this town financially stable for a full year -- long enough to set everything up, graduate a full class of genin from the new Academy, and operate as little more than a special training ground for the three genin teams we brought along, in an effort to get them all ready for the chuunin exam as quickly as possible. Then, we supposedly would have still had enough money left over to only need to run missions as a supplement to what finances was on hand for another year, while we built up enough of a reputation that we started getting enough customers to become self-sufficient. However, after only a few weeks of operation, we had already exhausted that grant down to the point we were supposed to be after a year."

"How?" Hana asked, startled. Sakura was just as curious.

"Well... it isn't all Kakashi-sensei's fault," Naruto admitted, pointing to some lines Sakura couldn't decifer on the budget. "We lost a lot of money trying to get supply lines established that we weren't expecting to need, and apparently one of the administrative genin who came here to help build Blossom had been embezzeling money from the project for almost a years worth of time during the village's construction before he was caught. Niether problem, however, should have amounted to that much of a loss -- maybe enough to drain off a month or two's worth of finances, but we should still have been fine. Kakashi-sensei, though, got a little sloppy with his bookkeeping, and that has cost us -- and is costing us -- a lot of money."

"_Is_ costing us?" Sakura repeated, trying to get him to clear things up. She understood that there were unexpected expenses, but apparently that wasn't all... so what was going on? And how could Kakashi do something so ineptly that even Naruto could figure it out? She knew Naruto was smarter then most people believed -- she'd just won a bet a few days ago proving that -- but she knew things like paperwork and administrative work weren't his strong suit. She'd been growing to accept that, since she knew Naruto would become hokage, she might have to take a job as the 'hokage's paper-pusher' one of these days. It would be the only way to keep working with him once he got that promotion, after all. The thought of not staying with him as her teammate (if as nothing else, back when she was still obsessing over Sasuke) hadn't entered her mind once since well before learning that he'd already won the job when he was ready for it. So, she'd been preparing herself to become his paper-pushing, practicing for the job by taking care of the hospital paperwork herself instead of bringing in an assistant like she was entitled to. If there was one thing outside of his loyalty she was sure of, with Naruto, it was that the nitty-gritty details of the paperwork involved in being hokage would not be his kind of thing.

Yet here he was, explaining a rather complex budgetary crisis with her and Hana as if _he_ had been the top academic student of his class of genin, instead of the bottom. Nothing he was saying went over her head, of course, but somehow he was able to handle administrative tasks better then even she had thought possible for him.

"Well," Naruto explained. "Kakashi set the budget up to purchase twice the amount of supplies we're expecting to use each month, and he did it intentionally. That's fine, since he was intending to purchase enough to warehouse things, so that this village wouldn't have any trouble weathering the winter months when our supply lines are going to be limited. The problem is, he made no distinction between non-perishable items and perishables. So, those things are being wasted and are spoiling.

"Furthermore, we seem to be paying a premium for a lot of stuff. I realize we had some trouble with our supply lines when we first got here, but once they were set up we should have been able to negotiate better prices for a lot of this stuff," Naruto noted. "We're paying six times the cost for raw iron that we should, and triple the cost for food... and those are only a couple of the worse examples."

Sakura hesitated. "Well, we aren't in Konoha -- things like iron could cost more, around here, naturally," she suggested.

"I was using the local prices," Naruto noted wryly. "I checked it out, myself, before I even knew about this problem."

"Why?" Hana asked, curious.

Naruto hesitated. "You both know that I essentially raised myself, right? That included the money thing, too. I've had to learn a lot about money from a very young age, just to avoid being ripped off -- and there are a lot of people out there who would try to rip off a six year old kid trying to make his own way in life. So, I always keep track of things like the cost of raw materials, manufactured goods, food... If there'd been a test on money in the Academy, I'd have been able to ace it before I even got there, even on a written test."

"And you kept that habit up when you moved here," Sakura mused, more impressed with Naruto then ever before. That was something she'd have to ask Ino about -- her personal copy of Naruto was a few years old, it was true, but she wondered just how much preparation for becoming hokage Naruto had done even then, consciously or unconsciously. Apparently, he'd mastered the art of managing a budget, already. It would pay to know just how much she'd have to help the boy when he became hokage, but she didn't really want to ask him directly so that she wouldn't have to explain just why she was asking. She knew he hadn't realized, yet, that his 'dream' of being hokage was in the bag, provided he survived long enough to claim it from Tsunade when she retired. She didn't want him to know, either -- he might become complacent if he did.

"Well, you know, Naruto," Hana mused. "You're in charge here, now. You could fix his problems, if you want."

"I can stop us from spending eight times what we're supposed to be spending each month, yeah," Naruto sighed. "But I can't repair the damage already done. We'll have to keep taking in missions, but at least we won't go bankrupt before the end of the year."

"How did Kakashi-sensei cause such a mess?" Sakura mused. "He's usually a lot smarter then this."

Naruto shrugged. "How should I know? The important thing is to get it fixed... and to do that, I'm going to need some help."

Sakura grinned. "What do you want me to do?" she asked. It looked like it just might be time to put all that effort she'd spent learning how to be a village leader's aide to good use.

"Get Ino for me," Naruto sighed. "She's the girl who's supposed to talk to the outside world for us, isn't she? She needs to go fire all of our suppliers and get new ones. Also, I'm going to be amending out purchasing orders, so she'll have to tell them to adjust that, and..."

The pink haired kunoichi waved him off, a little frustrated. "I get the idea. I suppose I won't be of any help in this mess, after all, will I?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused. "You are getting Ino for me, aren't you? That's very helpful!"

"I meant... oh, forget it, Naruto-kun," she sighed. Yes, he was a lot smarter then most people realized -- Sakura, herself, sometimes -- but he was still as clueless as a brain-dead jellyfish sometimes.

"How about me?" Hana asked. "Got anything for me to do?"

Naruto blinked. "Um... you're a jounin. I really shouldn't be asking you to do anything... should I?"

She laughed. "Not usually, no. However, this is a far from usual time -- technically, while I do outrank you, you are well ahead of me in the chain of command. Tradition dictates that I cannot relieve you, or disobey your lawfully given orders, despite my superior rank... unless there is a major crisis, which this little financial situation doesn't quite amount to. Be careful about using that power, though -- remember, once Kakashi gets back I'll be able to order _you_ around, since your position will have dropped significantly."

Naruto grinned. "Hmm... I'll have to remember that for later. Right now, though, I think I'll just ask you to break the news to Hanabi for me."

"News?" Hana said, a bit surprised. Why did Naruto want her genin to know about the economic crisis?

"Yeah," he said. "Making her my assistant was your idea, after all."

* * *

Notes: A bit short following a weekend-long break, I know. I'm a bit tired from the visitors I've had to entertain, my back hurts making it hard to sit in the chair by my computer for long stretches of time, and this chapter was a bit harder to write then some (in part, because I never actually got to where I was aiming to get to... I was tempted to leave it for another day, and make this a double length chapter). I hope I'll get the next chapter out tomorrow, but we'll see.

Next chapter: More of Naruto taking charge of Blossom as Hanabi takes her place as his assistant.


	29. V3 Chapter 19

Volume 3

Notes: Someone asked about what a 'hanko' is. A hanko is, essentially, a stamp with your signature on it in kanji, used for formal documents. You use your hanko for such things as marriage certificates, contracts, etc. You wouldn't use it to put your name on your homework for class, or a letter to a loved one, or the like -- likewise, you wouldn't use a brushpenetc. to sign a contract. They are (traditionally) custom-made out of very high-quality materials, and can cost a lot for a good one. The Imperial Hanko (used only by a mikado or, way back when, a 'retired emperor' (whose japanese title escapes me at the moment, but was often actually more powerful then the emperor himself)) is (or at least was -- I'm not as sure of the modern usage), by law, the largest you can make such a seal for official purposes -- on occasion, I've heard, it could be as large as six inches square. You typically use red ink with it, as opposed to black in for everything else. I have a few Japanese prints in my house (and, somewhere, a set of documents belonging to my mother indicating she's essentially an ikebana (flower arranging) master, although she hasn't used the skill much in the past thirty years since she left Japan) which have hanko stamps on them. The larger the stamp, typically, the more prominent the artist... though not always.

* * *

Chapter 19

"Hana-sensei said you wanted to see me?" Hanabi said, entering the office.

Naruto grimmaced. It didn't sound like the 'puppy lady' had actually shirked off her job, forcing him to explain things to the brat. Well, so be it -- maybe it was for the better.

"Take a seat," he sighed. "You've been foisted on me as my new assistant."

Hanabi's eyes narroed. "I am a Hyuuga -- we are not 'assistants.' We are superior to all, and therefore are destined to rule."

Naruto snorted. "Uh huh. I'm sure every Hyuuga's born knowing how to rule, without ever learning a thing about it. Look, brat, something you should know: Right now, until Kakashi-sensei comes back, there ain't no-one in Blossom more powerful then me, either in terms of political power or physical strength. If I say you're going to be my assistant, then you _will_ be my assistant. Got it?"

Hanabi stiffened. "No Hyuuga is ever an 'assistant.' If you wish an 'advisor,' or an 'executive officer,' then--"

"Assistant," Naruto said. "Though I suppose the job of the assistant is both that of advisor and executive officer. At least, that was my job in the post, and you're just taking over my job. And we aren't in Konoha, any more... so the Hyuuga aren't the dominant clan of this village."

"Why--"

Naruto grinned, cutting her off. "The Uzumaki are."

Hanabi twitched. In Konoha, her father often gave long lectures about how dominant the Hyuuga were. Her mother, however, once put it in perspective for her: At one point in time, there were twelve great families in the village which later became Konoha. The Hyuuga, the Nara, the Akamichi, the Inuzuka, the Sarutobi, the Hatake, the Aburame, the Mitarashi, the Anraku, the Haruno, the Yamanaka, and... the Uzumaki. Each of the twelve had once been part of a grouping of three clans -- one to protect secrets, one to infiltrate and discover secrets, and one to combat and assassinate thier enemies. The Hyuuga clan had been the infiltrators of their three, paired with the Akamichi (the protectors) and the Hatake (the assassins). They were definitely the most powerful of their trio of clans. The other groups, however, were different.

The trio which the Hyuuga belonged to was considered to be the strongest of the groups. The Inuzuka (infiltrators), Nara (assassins), and Mitarashi (protectors) were one of those other groups. All three of the Hyuuga group's clans were greater then the Mitarashi, and the weakest clan of the Hyuuga-lead trio, the Akamichi, were the equals of the Nara clan. The Inuzuka were probably better then the Hatake, overall, but not enough for their group to be considered the superior.

The group consisting of the Aburame (infiltrators), Anraku (protectors), and Sarutobi (assassins) were considered stronger than the Inuzuka-lead trio. A war between the two nations each trio had belonged to, prior to their unification in the village which later became Konoha, was won by the Aburame-lead trio. It was a near thing, as the Sarutobi were superior to the Mitarashi, and the Nara were superior to the Anraku. However, the Aburame's bugs were able to defeat the Inuzuka's dogs, and so they proved themselves to be the strongest. Again, only one of the Aburame group's trio of clans could be considered better then even the weakest of the Hyuuga clan's trio, so the Hyuuga still outranked them.

The final trio, however, upset the balance a bit. It consisted of the Yamanaka, the Haruno, and the Uzumaki clans. The Yamanaka clan had techniques which were ideal for the infiltration of their enemies, but -- unlike the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, or Aburame -- their clan was considered fairly useless outside of their chosen line of work. Likewise, the Haruno clan was probably superior to any other when it came to protecting secrets... but it, too, was fairly useless outside of that field. The Uzumaki clan, however... well, they hardly fit the standard title of 'ninja.' They were loud, obnoxious, and great failures when it came to the non-combatitive portions of ninja work. Some said it was because they were truly a samurai clan drafted who adopted ninja tactics, instead of a true ninja clan, but whether that was true or not meant little. The Uzumaki, when it came to sheer combat power, could not be rivaled... by any clan. Not even the Hyuuga. Not even the entire Hyuuga-lead trio of clan's combined force. Not even the entire _nine_ clans which once marshalled against it -- namely, all of the future Konoha's founders save the ones in the Uzumaki trio. They were... superior.

However, their trio was regarded as inferior. Each clan, it was claimed, was defective. The Haruno and Yamanaka clans could not fight, and the Uzumaki could do nothing but fight. So, when Konoha's predecessor was formed, they were relegated to being a 'lesser' clan. The Hyuuga, as the lead clan of the lead trio, were named, in essence, the 'royal' clan of the village. Civil war split the Hyuuga, resulting in the birth of the Uchiha clan, and other things happened to the other clans. The Yamanaka, Akamichi, and Nara clans all broke from their original trios to form a new one of their own, a political alliance rather then a military one for once. The Hayate clan and the Uchiha clan became bitter rivals -- which cost them their alliance with the Hyuuga, for the Hyuuga continued to claim the Uchiha as their own. The Anraku clan abandoned their nindo, deciding that they were truly the weakest clan out of the twelve and therefore would be more of a burden then an aide. While the clan remained a part of the village, its members never again learned the ninjitsu of their ancestors. Additional clans, in ones and twos, were brought into the village... but the Hyuuga continued to maintain their claim as the greatest. This was disputed by the Uchiha, but easily explained away as an offshoot of the Hyuuga rather then a rival.

One day, for a very large war, a certain clan was adopted into the village. That clan was known for its knowledge of skills, its strength, and its administrative and political prowess. Within one generation, that clan had taken over the village, changed its name to Konoha, and a pair of brothers took the title of 'First' and 'Second,' the hokages. The Hyuuga objected to this, as they were the greatest clan in Konoha, but a strange thing happened.

The Hyuuga tried to rebel, bringing with them their allies of the Uchiha, Aburame, Mitarashi, and Akamichi clans. Another clan was called in to put down that rebellion -- the Uzumaki clan. The war devastated the Uzumaki's, but, in the end, they proved themselves the true superiors. They had even managed the subterfuge needed for 'infiltration' and 'protection of secrets,' a skill they had never truly demonstrated before... but they were able to get past the best those five allied clans had to offer in those fields, and proved themselves superior on the battlefield to boot.

But there was only one family of Uzumaki still capable of reproducing left. They had one son, who had one daughter, who had one son... who may or may not have become the father of this same Uzumaki Naruto before her. The Uchiha explained away their overthrow as the superior clan by deciding that the Uzumaki's no longer counted -- they were a lone family, after all, and hardly counted as a 'clan' any more. And so... the Uchiha remained the 'superior' clan in Konoha. But, everyone who remembered the civil war -- the one which lead to the boy who only went by his family name of Sarutobi being named the Third instead of one of the Hyuuga -- knew that the Uzumaki were the true strongest. The Hyuuga had done their utmost to hide this disgrace -- in the chaos following the death of the Fourth, many important documents relating to their clan were stolen and -- in many cases -- destroyed. While the name may still appear in some records, all records of the civil war were gone... as were the family papers of the Uzumaki, which taught their techniques, and as were any other documents which might show just how powerful the Uzumaki had been. The theft, to the best of her clan's knowledge, had yet to be discovered. The papers themselves no longer existed, for the most part -- for example, the clan techniques, save for a few kinjustu secreted away in the vaults of the hokage, all had to be burned to prevent the Hyuuga who had stolen them from being caught. They weren't entirely sure what else they had destroyed, but there were many documents lost in the operation. A tragedy, to be sure -- the Hyuuga were not so crass as to _intentionally_ set about to destroy the heritage of one of Konoha's founding clans. They had merely intended to keep them secret from other clans, to hide thier shame... for it was believed that the kyuubi had wiped out the last Uzumaki. Naruto's existance wasn't known about until well after things had settled down. However, the clan leadership declared that the operation was justified, for it helped to protect the Hyuuga's reputation.

"Remember," her mother had said. "The Hyuuga clan is only the greatest clan in Konoha because no-one else has survived challenging us. There have been better clans then our own, though... which means, if we wish to keep our place, we must know when another clan is getting too strong, and move against it then. We must not allow another clan such as the Uzumaki to exist, or else we will be in danger of losing our titles."

That memory of her mother and the history she taught, combined with Naruto's declaration of his being the 'dominant' clan of Blossom, brought Hanabi to a halt. It might -- barely -- be true, after all, that in Blossom, Naruto was her superior. However... that was something she would need to watch out for. She made a mental note to send a confidential letter to her father, asking for his advice in this and the other problems which had arised. She had yet to hear back about what to do on Adaha, but now it seemed she must also ask what to do about this blond boy who was claiming to be her superior.

Meanwhile, she should do as she was doing with Adaha -- stay by Naruto's side, make observations, and do the job asked of her until additional plans could be made.

"Fine," she huffed to the blond boy she viewed as a lucky idiot. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

"First, sit at your desk," Naruto sighed, pointing. "And try to remember -- in Konoha, you have the council to support the hokage. There are twenty five council seats in Konoha, each taken by the leader of a major ninja clan. Then, there are the seats of the 'missing clans,' which the Uchiha were the last to become a member of back when Itachi slaughtered everyone by Sasuke -- seats where the clan no longer can or no longer will send a member to sit for them, but which are held in their memory. If any member of those clans return, they may take the seat vacated... provided, of course, they're at least twenty years old. This council can act without the hokage, but mostly acts as a buffer between him and the usual administrative and legislative functions a government must accomplish, freeing him to oversee ninja operations. Blossom, however, has no clan system... and therefore no council. Which means that this office -- which is really just you and I -- have to handle everything the hokage and the council are supposed to handle on a daily basis."

Hanabi winced. This didn't exactly sound like a fun job... and the reminder of those 'missing clan' seats, one of which Naruto could probably claim of if he realized it, didn't help her feel any less concerned about the Uzumaki clan's resurrection. "So... what, exactly, am I supposed to do?"

Naruto handed her a very tall stack of documents and his hanko. "I've identified these as simple rubber-stamp requests. So... stamp them."

Hanabi looked stricked. "But... but I'm the pride of the Hyuuga! This... what kind of job is this?"

Naruto smirked. "You are a genin, right?"

"Only because I haven't taken the chuunin exam, yet," she huffed.

"Well, until you do, you're only entitled to class C and D missions," Naruto pointed out. "Largely because you're just starting out as a ninja -- you're supposed to get experience doing 'safe' things until you're really ready for the difficult stuff, regardless of your skill level, just to get you adjusted to the pace of things. Well, right now, you're just starting out in the politics of being a ninja. So... here's a class D mission for you -- just to get you adjusted to the pace of things in this office."

Hanabi sighed, her expression twisting to reveal -- for the first time that Naruto could remember -- her juvenile side. "Ugh. I _hate_ class D missions."

_So do I,_ Naruto thought. "Hmm..."

"What?" she asked.

"Just... it seems we have something in common, after all."

* * *

"Ah, Ino-chan!" Tazuna cried, greeting the young woman enthusiastically. She had just been ushered into the office of the Wave Country's prime minister without even having had to make an appointment, and was quite relieved to see he was in good spirits. This set of negotiations Naruto had sent her on would be a bit difficult, she knew, but it would ease matters considerably if she had local support. "Welcome!"

"Tazuna-sama," Ino replied much more formally, bowing slightly.

"Sit down, sit down," he crowed, pointing to one of the overstuffed chairs he kept in his office for visitors. "I hadn't been expecting you, obviously, but I'm always happy to see you. So, Ino-chan, what do you need from us?"

"Recently, a crisis occured in Blossom," Ino began. "The details of that crisis are... not for public ears, I would say--"

"You mean the Sasuke boy finally showed up?" Tazuna snorted. "I knew he was coming, just not when. I liked Sasuke-san, and I'm quite disappointed to hear how he has turned out."

Ino remembered everything she had learned from the mangekyou scroll -- it was one of the few Haruno family documents Sakura had refused to share with her, at first. After Sasuke had swept in -- and back out -- of the village, that scroll had been partially transcribed. Now, she understood just why Sakura had been so loyal to the boy... even if she wasn't sure she would have been the same, in her place.

"I fear," Ino replied cautiously. "That Sasuke is not fully able to control his own actions. His family line is cursed with insanity. The Uchiha, however, kept that inbred insanity a secret, knowing many tricks for stopping the psychotic delusions before it took hold in a person. His entire clan, however, was destroyed, and he was left an orphan. If a proper treatment is applied, she should return to his old self -- more or less -- but the longer he goes without treatment the less likely he is to recieve it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Tazuna asked.

"Actually, that is not what I am here about, at all," Ino explained. "Following the incident, Kakashi-sama was sent a special elite team from Konoha and is personally leading them in an effort to capture Sasuke -- which may or may not allow us to apply a treatment. That, you need not concern yourself with -- although I will be sure to keep you informed, if you so desire."

"Thank you, Ino-chan."

"While he's gone, however, we have put someone else in charge of Blossom," Ino said, carefully avoiding the topic of just who that person was. She knew that Naruto was bright enough for the job, herself. She knew that here, in Wave Country, he was actually so great a hero it made him uncomfortable. She also knew, however, that this man in front of her remembered the young Naruto who had barely wet his feet as a ninja -- who was still much the prankster, and much the irresponsible boy who hid from everyone just who he was. There wasn't a person in Blossom who hadn't learned to respect Naruto, now -- if nothing else, the chess match with Shikamaru had taught all of those from Konoha just how bright he really was -- but she figured most of his 'old friends' might be a little unnerved to learn just how much power he now wielded. "This person, in his first day in office, was able to examine our budget for the first time. What he found was... disturbing, to say the least. Unless something changes, Blossom will be completely bankrupt in less than five months."

Tazuna stiffened. "Impossible. I know just how much money you were granted -- I approved the amount, myself!"

"The money should have been sufficient," Ino agreed. "However... we went through the records, and discovered that our supply train was overcharging us. Here, take a look for yourself."

With that, she handed him a stack of papers. Tazuna took the stack and surveyed them. As he read, his face paled. "Are... are these the contracts you have signed?"

"Yes," Ino answered. "We were hoping that you would help us find a way to break those contracts and establish new ones with more... reliable providers."

Tazuna stared at the documents for a very long time. "I believe," he finally said. "That there will be no problem breaking these contracts... as the businesses with which they were made cannot legally operate inside of the Country of Wave any more."

Ino was startled. "They can't? Why not?"

"Because," Tazuna said. "These companies formerly were part of a large, multi-national corporation which tried to take over our country. These businesses are what is left of the Gatoh group."

Ino was just about to ask who the Gatoh group were when the knowledge flooded into her mind. The first mission to Wave Country, the building of the bridge, and Zabuza and Haku... all because of Gatoh. She knew of the murder of Inari's adopted father -- and this man's son in law -- by Gatoh, himself... and suddenly, things became clear.

"Damn," Ino said. "I don't think we even considered what happened to the Gatoh corporation after his demise, but I suppose someone had to have taken over, huh?"

"Several someones," Tazuna muttered. "We've done our best to keep track of them, but we aren't ninjas ourselves -- surveillance is your job. Until recently, we couldn't really afford to pay for what was needed to keep an eye on them, but we did have some volunteers. They weren't trained very well, so our reports are... not the most reliable, but we have some information nonetheless. I'll see to it your village recieves copies from now on."

"Thank you, Tazuna-sama," Ino said, bowing her head. "We will definitely look into the matter. Now, I was sort of hoping that we could take care of these other problems while I was here. See, I need to find some decent suppliers to replace these contracts. Would you happen to have any recommendations?"

Tazuna grinned. "As a matter of fact..."

* * *

Notes: Sorry this is so late -- and so short. My back is still killing me. I don't know how much I can write until it recovers, but I'll work when I feel up to it. Don't expect my posts to be quite as fast for a while, though -- sorry. What this chapter lacks in size, it should make up for in background material for certain upcoming chapters, however -- which will make the action go a lot faster when the time comes.

I've seen three different romanizations for Gatoh -- Gatoh (which I decided to use), Gatou, and Gato. I, um, tossed a coin twice to choose. No nitpicking on different styles of romanization, please!

Next chapter: Well, I have any number of things I could pick, as the general order of the chapters won't matter overmuch until Kakashi's return (although one of those 'chapters' I expect to be a three chapter minimum mini-arc that can take place at any point between now and when Kakashi gets back, and another is a two chapter minimum mini-arc with the same conditions). Hmm... I'll toss a coin, and it'll be the start of one of those mini-arcs, but I don't know which one yet. Wait and see. It could be anything from a simple character introduction to a small war, so hold your hats.


	30. V3 Chapter 20

Volume 3

Notes: Someone just asked about the two seperate plans for whether Gaara lives or dies -- specifically, if I could post both of them. Well... maybe. We'll see -- they each go in radically different directions, even if the overall story ends roughly the same. It would be... rather complex. (Also, given the state of the manga, I may decide to use NIETHER, as Gaara's fate is STILL undetermined. At the pace the manga is going, I might finish this fic before I know for sure, either way).

Someone (who did not leave any way of contacting them, just the handle of 'Forest') just submitted a review of Chapter 1, where apparently my pronouncement of 'not going back to make spellchecks or fix grammar' so angered him he decided he wouldn't even try and read it. He called me 'lazy,' because of it. So, I want to know -- would people here prefer I finish the fic, or go back and make simple nitpicky corrections? (I'm not entirely serious about this question, but I had to comment on that review when I got it. I think sometimes my regular readers might have fun checking out the reviews, some time -- there are some interesting, and sometimes humorous, comments in there. Of course, back on topic, I'm going to try to finish the fic of course... but LAZY? Come on! I've written over a hundred and fifty thousand words of fanfic in a month and a half -- and I'm LAZY because I don't want go back and fix nitpicks?)

Well, I'm writing this while on prescription painkillers (Vicoprofen, if anyone cares -- I've used it's sister drug (Vicoden) after having had a root canal, but this is the first time I've taken any kind of prescription painkiller for anything but dental work. I didn't even take anything when my girlfriend broke my toe back in my freshman year of college, so that should tell you something about how much this is troubling me) for my back, which apparently has no serious damage (thankfully) but does need to heal from a muscle pull, so maybe it'll be a little below my usual quality. Things are still slow going despite my getting some treatment for my back, however -- the painkillers make it hard to focus once they kick in, so... my writing time is still limited (although I have been able to catch up on my reading a bit). I'm told I may have to deal with this for a couple weeks, but the doctor didn't think it would be any longer then that. Hopefully, the fic won't suffer in any way other then time delays... although the time delays are essentially going to kill any possibility of my writing the side story dealing with Neji, Hinata, Kiba, and everyone back in Konoha any time soon (although certain events will inescapably intersect with the main storyline, anyway, so don't worry -- all of those characters will appear, and in volume 4 may even play significant roles). Ah, well -- maybe after I've finished this fic and had a nice long break, then did the next-gen sequel I have planned (heh) and had a nice long break from that... Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 20

Additional Note: Minor correction made.

Naruto sat, reading the specifics of the mission he was leaning towards rating a class C. True, babysitting usually constituted a D-rank, but this was no ordinary child the genin team would need to be taking care of -- This was the son of the Wave Country's daimyo. Wave wasn't on hostile terms with anyone -- save perhaps some of those companies which had once belonged to the Gatoh group -- but still, the family of any national leader should always be treated with great care... and looked upon as the possible target of foriegn powers.

On the other hand, the daimyo would be providing his own security services, and the government of Wave probably needed the extra money as much as the village of Blossom did. Well, maybe the interview with the 'client' would be a better indicator. "Bring them in, Hanabi."

With a sigh, the girl bowed. "Yes, Naruto."

"Naruto-_sama_," he corrected. He wouldn't tell anyone else in Blossom to address him that way -- or any way other than 'Naruto,' for that matter -- but Hanabi was an exception. The 'discussion' which took place the first time she had neglected to use an honorific with his name was... not entirely pleasant. It had started with Hinata relaying her views on the report Ino had filed upon her return from the meeting with Tazuna. Naruto had read the whole thing, himself, but he was curious as to which aspects of it the Hyuuga girl found the most interesting, and so had asked her to summarize and analyze the data that had been collected. After all, while he might _really_ not like the girl, he had to admit she was pretty competent in just about any area he assigned for her.

"Well, I don't think there's any real threat," she had been saying. "The Gatoh Group of the time you fought them, Naruto, has broken into fragments too small to--"

"Hanabi, you are a genin," Naruto began. "I must insist that you call me 'Naruto-sama,' or I will have to file a report on insubordination against you."

The girl froze, and her eyes narrowed at him. "I know that you permit others to address you informally... sir. Why do you require such formal a address by me?"

"Because," Naruto explained. "You're such an arrogant asshole, I figure you need to know just how you act. You don't know just what a brat you are, so I'm going to show you. When I deal with you, I _will_ be the most arrogant asshole you've ever seen -- even though everyone else can treat me like they always have, _you_ don't get that freedom. Got it?"

Hanabi stiffened. "By what right do you, a mere boy only a few years older than I am, a mere boy of considerably lesser breeding, judge me, the pride of the Hyuuga clan?"

"Cut the crap about that Hyuuga clan bullshit," Naruto snapped. "Neji tried it on me, too, and I beat the hell out of him for it -- which I suspect you remember, as you were there at the time."

"He's branch family," Hanabi snorted. "The branch family only lives on the sufference of the main line, so they are also inferior. But the Hyuuga are the strongest in Konoha -- the strongest in the world! No-one is above us. We call no-one 'sama' unless they are also Hyuuga, and only if they are at the top of the main line."

Naruto sighed. "Does that include the hokage? Because if that's true, I suspect the old hag might want to _talk_ with your clan leaders..."

"Hokage-dono is our equal, perhaps," Hanabi admitted. "But not our better. A few of us used to call the Third 'sama,' but Tsunade-dono has yet to gain the respect of even those few."

Naruto frowned. "The hokage should _always_ be respected, no matter who it is -- they have earned the right to be called the most respected ninja in Konoha, and if the Hyuuga don't see that... well, then perhaps the Hyuuga need a lesson taught them. I'm going to start with you -- every time you drop the 'sama' from my title, I will put a reprimand in your file. When my time as Blossom's leader is just about up, we'll see what we can come up with to 'work off' those demerits, okay? Okay." Since then, he had given her seven written reprimands for neglecting his 'sama,' and (unknown to her) three written commendations for excellent work. When the time came to administer her punishment, he would subtract the commendations from her reprimands in order to determine just how many punishments she needed. He wasn't going to tell her that, though.

He made a mental note to add one to her demerit list before continuing. "Now, as I said, send them in."

"Yes... Naruto-sama," she replied reluctantly, leaving the room. She returned a moment later with a small entourage of people, one of whom Naruto knew to be the wife of the Wave Country daimyo.

"Greetings, Naruto-sama," the daimyo's wife said, stepping forward and bowing. Hanabi looked mildly surprised at the deference the older woman was showing a boy she viewed as nothing more than a lucky brat. After all, as family to a daimyo, she was technically well above him in rank -- in fact, she should consider herself the equal of the hokage or even the Hyuuga clan, itself (though not the superior to them -- no-one was superior to the Hyuuga. Her mother drilled that into her head for way too many years for her to doubt that!).

Naruto, however, waved her off. "Please -- this is just a friendly chat about your mission request. I don't want you to be so formal, here."

The woman hesitated. "If you insist, Naruto-sama."

Naruto sighed. "Drop the 'sama,' would you? I don't deserve it."

She looked shocked. "But... but you're the legendary ninja who saved the bridge! You're one of the four who saved us all! You're--"

"A chuunin," Naruto interrupted, boggling a little at the 'legendary' attached to his name -- yeah, he wanted to be hokage, and he would one day, but he wasn't one of the sannin. "Which means I'm actually outranked by a lot of my own officers -- or at least, I will be when Kakashi-sensei gets back. You, however, are the wife of the leader of this country -- if anyone should be called 'sama,' it should be you. But I think we should dispense with the formalities. Just call me 'Naruto,' okay?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to figure out what to say, before she finally gave up and laughed. "Very well... Naruto. Then you might as well call me by my first name, as well -- I am Kasumi." She bowed gracefully, but also theatrically -- showing not only that she knew how to do a proper bow, but also that she could mock herself with exaggeration. "And now that our names are out of the way, can we talk about the mission?"

"That's why I wanted to see you," Naruto agreed with a grin. "I've read your request -- you basically want a babysitter, but the team will need to perform some protective duties as well, correct?"

"We mentioned that as a mere formality," Kasumi explained. "As the family to the daimyo, we are always in danger. However, none of our family has been attacked since the death of Gatoh, and we have significant protection around us already. However, I suspect that this will be a mere babysitting job for whoever you send. To be honest, I wasn't sure we needed to hire you -- any ordinary person with babysitting experience should be able to handle this job -- but Tazuna-dono recommended that we contact you, instead."

Naruto hummed to himself as he looked at the paperwork in front of him. "The problem, Kasumi, is just what 'rank' of mission we need to assign this. Typically, a babysitting job is a D-rank mission. D-rank missions are missions where our ninja skills are rarely needed -- things like walking dogs, weeding gardens, finding lost pets, and so forth -- and there is almost no possibility of combat. They're also very affordable -- your average middle-class family could easily afford to hire us -- and they're typically short-term. We take them for the money, and assign them to genin as teamwork-building exercises. In truth, we rarely make much money on them, after you take out the genin's salaries, commissions, supplies, and transportation costs... and unexpected expenses. The thing is, though, it _is_ a little bit of money -- about fifty ryou or so per assignment in Konoha -- and it gives our genin some busy work. We try to take about five hundred class D missions a week in Konoha -- enough for a genin team to take such a mission every other week. But this is Blossom, and we don't have a hundred teams of genin -- we have three... and only two can actively serve on missions at once. So, we try and give them a mission every day -- possibly two or three, if time allows. That still means we can only take about fifteen class D missions a week, but it's something... and we earn more net from a D then Konoha does, since we pay for the genin's salaries faster. However, your babysitting mission is for a full three day weekend -- which means we need at least triple the standard class D fee if we're going to take it as such.

"A class C mission is very different. We charge by the day, not by the mission, and we make a lot more per day. These are the typical missions a very wealthy man or a business might hire us for -- typically, missions to protect people or things from the everyday dangers, or missions to acquire certain pieces of information about a competitor in a non-threatening environment. This is the lowest ranked mission where combat should be considered a possibility. We get between five hundred and ten thousand ryou a day with these missions, and they are where we get most of our money from. This seems a bit too high to charge you for a simple babysitting job, but you do have enough of a threat to that boy that we have to consider combat a possibility. Class C missions charge so much because the possibility of combat against rioters, thieves, bandits, and possibly low-to-mid-ranked samurai or other genin is significant enough to worry about, though not necessarily guaranteed. Slight risk of combat with higher-ranked ninjas is also acceptable, which I figure is who would be sent if someone tried to hire an assassin against your boy, but typically if we expect a ninja assault we rank it class B or higher. So, I'm a bit conflicted -- do we rate this a C rank or a D rank?"

Kasumi smiled. "Don't worry. We understand that, as we are hiring ninja to babysit for a daimyo's son, we'll have to pay more then the usual couple would for the usual boy. We planned for the possibility of having to pay for a C rank. It isn't like when we hired you to protect the bridge -- Wave Country has been in an economic boom for the past three years. We can certainly afford it... especially just for three days."

Naruto hesitated. "Well... I guess we need the money. I'll give it a marginal C-rank, and charge you the minimum for it... and before you say anything, yes, I remember you get a ten percent discount for being the government of our host country."

"I wouldn't have said anything," Kasumi replied with a smile. "And I can't tell you how happy I am to finally get a baby sitter for this weekend! It means my husband and I can actually celebrate our wedding anniversary at the government retreat, like we've been trying to do the past seven years."

"How old is the boy?" Naruto asked, curious.

"Eight," she replied. "I'm sure he'll love the company of your ninja. He was hoping to become one of your Academy students this year, but we heard you don't have an early entry program here..."

"Not for any Konoha ninja institution, not anymore," Naruto explained. "Exceptional talent is occasionally admitted a little early, but we graduate no-one before they turn ten, at least -- we lost too many young kids in the Rock War to ever consider that, again, and currently we're using only a one-year program at our Academy here in Blossom. Certain clans offer preparatory schools, largely to train their children in family techniques before they join the Academy, but there is no real clan system here in Blossom." He directed his gaze at Hanabi, who was looking away. "Here, clans are meaningless."

The young genin stiffened, but otherwise hid her reaction from everybody. Inside, she was seething -- how dare he claim that clan was meaningless? Clan affiliation was everything -- her parents taught her that a long time ago. It didn't matter if you were in Konoha or on a deserted island, if you were in the clan, you were a Hyuuga... and the Hyuuga deserved respect.

"Well, perhaps your team could give a few little pointers to him while they're around," Kasumi hinted. "Nothing much -- just something he can practice in order to make his acceptance into the Academy later on a bit more likely."

Naruto suddenly grinned. "Well, obviously, the individuals on my team are free to train your boy if they want... but I can't make any guarantees. Unless you're willing to add a bit to the price of the mission?"

"How about fifty ryou more, per day? That would cover the net gain you would have if I asked you to piggyback a D-class mission onto my C-class one, correct?" Kasumi bargained coolly.

"And another thirty for supplies?" Naruto suggested.

"Deal!" Kasumi agreed. "Three days of babysitting, with some of that time devoted to helping my son prepare for his Ninja Academy entrance exams. We'll need your team in four days."

"Agreed," Naruto said, shaking her hand. "Hanabi, if you would draw up the contract?"

"Yes... Naruto-sama," she answered, restraining her hatred for that boy in order to avoid embarrassing herself in front of the daiymo's wife. "Whatever you say."

* * *

Shiranui Genma watched as his three genin drilled their young charge, Shuuha Onritou, in simple taijutsu and shuriken exercises. Their teamwork was excellent -- after all, since coming to Blossom, they'd been on over a dozen D rank missions together. This was their first opportunity at a C rank -- usually, those went to Ebisu's team, as they were the more experienced team belonging to the more powerful clans. The Sarutobi and Akamichi clans were two of the original twelve, and Konohamaru was even the grandson of the Third -- there was no question their pedigree was the highest of the three genin teams in blossom, with the possible exception of Hana's trio... who were all too busy working at the Academy to accept missions except in an emergency.

It wasn't as if his team was _completely_ without pedigree. Matsuri was a distant relative of the legendary sannin Jiraiya -- although that family had never formally organized as a clan, so few of his special techniques had been taught her -- though those few were enough to make her the strongest part of his team. Kouji was actually part of the Hatake clan... sort of. His line of the family was considered the 'black sheep,' by some, since they were largely responsible for shaming Hatake Sakumo into his suicide, so he had learned little of the Hatake clan's lessons. He was constantly distracted in classes, which had lead to poor grades, but he made of for it by his determination -- which had allowed him to actually pass his class... albeit by a very slim margin. The third... well, Nobori had been a tremendous student, passing with straight A's... but he had little else going for him, being a clanless first generation ninja. Truthfully, Genma wanted to put him into the medical ninja program as soon as possible -- it would be his best chance at career advancement, as things stood, and fighting techniques were secondary to a person's ability to learn in that field. A medical ninja could become a powerful fighter in his or her own right -- as both Tsunade and her apprentice, Sakura, showed -- as long as they had a brain and the will to learn.

Onritou would obviously be a first generation ninja, as well. It appeared as if Nobori took a liking to him, because of it, and so was trying harder then the other two to get the boy started in his future career. That, in Genma's eyes, was probably a good thing -- it gave him a chance to see if there really was any potential trapped in Nobori, after all -- the boy was very weak, outside of his studies, yet if he proved good at instruction then perhaps becoming a medi-nin wasn't his only possible career path. A lot of smart but otherwise untalented genin managed the promotion to chuunin exclusively through their teaching skills. Umino Iroku, for example. Still, in Blossom, becoming an apprentice at the hospital was a much better plan... but one should always keep one's options open.

Genma ignored the soft snores of the lone samurai in charge of 'protecting' the boy -- or rather, more likely, keeping him out of everyone's hair. Genma knew just how frustrating dealing with children as young as Onrituro could be when you were trying to accomplish important business, having spend a year undercover as a teacher in after-school day care institute while looking for an assassin intending to harm a different daimyo's heir. He didn't begrudge the samurai his nap -- Genma and his ninja were there to do his job, for a few days, anyway, and the threat to the boy's safety was so low that the 'class C' designation had almost not been granted. Besides, if there _was_ a threat that he and his genin couldn't handle, this lone samurai wouldn't be much help.

"Genma-sensei?" their charge said, stepping up to him expectantly. "How am I doing?"

Genma mentally debated the merits of being honest versus being diplomatic. It wasn't that the boy was _bad_ -- he seemed to be taking to the drills well enough. It was just that he was still so inexperienced -- and would continue to be so inexperienced until long after the team from Blossom had left -- that there wasn't really any way to tell just how much this would help him in the end. Perhaps he could mingle both together, and see what he came up with.

"These drills are only the start of what you will need to know to become a successful ninja," he finally said. "They're basic. So basic, in fact, that in Konoha you would be expected to know these things before the Academy would even consider admitting you. Locally, however, there hasn't been enough of a tradition of ninja in the family for anyone to expect that sort of work from people... so, if you can master the principles we're teaching you, I suspect you will be well ahead of your classmates upon entry."

The boy, who was frowning at the start of Genma's assessment, couldn't help but smile when he heard that. "Thank you, Genma-sensei! I will try my hardest!"

Genma's face suddenly changed. "Crap!" he cried, jumping on top of the boy. Seconds later, three shuriken -- he couldn't tell by feel what type, but they seemed to be larger then kunai -- impacted with his back. He, like most chuunin and higher, wore a special armored vest on his back which, while knives could penetrate, didn't usually allow for deep penetration, often letting them survive what should be deadly blows to the back. One of the shuriken, however, had hit the weak point of the vest -- a split in the seam... and stuck itself into his spine. His legs couldn't move. "Double crap," he muttered.

"Genma-sensei!" his genin chorused.

"Good shot, Muri," a voice which sounded moderately altered came to him. "You got the jounin... now, we can have a fun time with the rest of these nuisances, and then accomplish the mission."

Genma, in extreme pain, turned his head to glance behind him. A trio of mist ninja stood there, all of them apparently chuunin rank... and apparently at least one of them a genjutsu master, as he hadn't sensed them until it was too late. The samurai guard was dead, the tip of his own tanto coming out of his adams apple from where it had been struck in the back of his neck. That would require an extreme amount of force, so at least one of them had some strength, as well.

He pushed up with his arms, freeing the trapped Onritou from underneath him. "Nobori, take him and go. Matsuri, rearguard -- Kouji, point. Protect him, and run to the samurai barracks. I'll delay them as long as I can."

His three genin froze in shock for a moment, before a motion on behalf of on of the mist ninja's spurred them into action. Nobori moved first, following orders to the letter as he darted in and grabbed the boy. Kouji helped him by grabbing the other arm, and the two fled. Matsuri stood a moment longer, contemplating something.

"Ninpo Hari Jizou!" she cried. Her hair suddenly lengthened and formed points, bending to cover all but her eyes in a sharp, spiky armor. "I'll help you, Genma-sensei," she declared.

"It's too late," Genma shouted back, coughing. "I'm dead already, dammit. Keep _them _safe -- they'll need all the help they can get."

Her barely visible eyes sparkled for a moment in indecison before she finally nodded. "Yes, sir. It... it was an honor, sir..."

Then she was gone.

"Okay, boys," he said, once he was sure his genin were far enough away. "I may be crippled, and I may be dying... but you three aren't going to get out of here until I'm dead. I hope you know that..."

* * *

Naruto sat in the hospital, his hands wringing nervously. The 'borderline class C mission' had, much as his first C-class mission years before, proved to be significantly more complicated then anyone had expected. Just like his own experience, the genin team had succeeded. Unlike that experience, however... not everyone returned from the mission unharmed. Sakura stepped out of the operating room, slipping off her bloodstained all-white medi-nin uniform, revealing the fancy dress she was wearing underneath. The two of them had been out on a date when the news had come in, and they had both rushed over to help as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Sakura sighed, stepping towards him and pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"He's dead, right?"

"Yes," Sakura sighed. "He was dead before they brought him in. I... even if I'd gotten to him right after the fight, it wouldn't have mattered. His spine was cut in half, and that was bad enough... but whatever kinjutsu he used melted his internal organs beyond repair. Have... have you heard any more about what happened?"

"The genin who took charge after Genma was... attacked, Matsuri, explained as best as she could," Naruto replied hollowly. "You'd better look at her, soon, though... at all of them. They've all had a nasty shock, and might need some help to deal with it." His head fell, and under his breath so that she couldn't hear, he said, "I sure do. I can't believe I... I sent a man to his death..."

He hadn't spoken quite as softly as he'd intended, however -- Sakura heard him. "Naruto-kun..."

"Mist ninja," he droned on tonelessly, louder. "Three of them -- I think we know who they are, but I'll have to confirm it later. Appeared out of nowhere, attacked, got a lucky shot in on Genma that crippled him. The genin... he ordered them to take the daimyo's son and run. They don't know what happened next, but whatever it was stopped their attackers cold. They were spotted fleeing south a few minutes later, and Genma was... well, you saw how he was. I sent a report to Konoha... we should hear back from Tsunade-sama soon."

"Naruto-kun... it wasn't your fault," Sakura said a bit more forcefully. "You just took a simple sounding mission. You knew there was a risk, even if it was a very slight one, but there was no reason to think that they couldn't handle it. The genin acquited themselves well, and it was just bad luck that got Genma killed. Don't... don't blame yourself for this."

Naruto sighed. "I don't. But... but it occurs to me that if I do become hokage... I'll be doing this all the time. Sending people out to get killed, and trying to remain strong when they don't come back. I... I've known that, of course, but... but I didn't know what this felt like. This... this kick in the gut..."

Sakura hesitated. "You don't have to become hokage, Naruto. I know it's always been your dream, but... but you don't always get to follow your dream."

Naruto grinned slightly, pulling her close. "_You_ are my dream, Sakura-chan," he sighed. "If you ever want proof of that, think about this: When I fought Gaara, the fight went three distinct ways. I fought first for myself, nearly believing him when, in his insanity, he said that the only way to become strong was to fight for yourself. I managed to get one good shot in, but that was it -- I thought I was dead, then. Then Sasuke... Sasuke reminded me, by his own actions, that everyone I've ever known became stronger when they fought for someone else. So, I started fighting for everyone -- I was doing the duty of the hokage, as someone who would become hokage. That... I pushed him with that. I was beating him... but he got stronger. He became shukaku, and I thought I'd given everything I had and it wasn't enough. My chakra was gone, I had no plan of action, and his sand was closing around me -- about to kill me." He paused. "Then I remembered you. I fought for you, summoning all of the chakra I could, and I beat him... because I wanted to protect you. You were what made me stronger then being hokage."

Sakura blinked. "Naruto-kun, what--"

"Sakura-chan," he said finally, "I want to become hokage. But I want you alive and happy more. I... I can't help but feel stained, having done this to Genma-san... but I'm leaving the decision up to you. If I become hokage, and I grow to have the blood of hundreds, even thousands of Genma's on my hands... would you still be able to love me?"

The answer escaped from her lips before she could even think about it. "Of course, Naruto-kun. Nothing -- not even Sasuke, any more -- will tear me from you." She paused. "And I will do everything in my power to keep that blood off your hands -- not because it bothers me, but because it bothers you. Think about this, though, Naruto-kun... I know you well enough to know that you would do anything to help someone else. You know, now, what it's like to order someone to his death... but there will always have to be someone who gives orders, and so someone will always be responsible for the blood of other ninjas. Do you want to pass that burden on to someone else?"

"No!" Naruto snapped, almost shouting. "I... I can't ask this of anyone!"

"Then, Naruto-kun," she sighed. "I think you should become the hokage. Because otherwise, someone else will have that blood on their hands... someone who might not be strong enough to deal with it. Because I know you, Naruto-kun... and I know you are that strong. And I will help you be even stronger. In the meantime, though, Naruto-kun... always remember, it is okay to grieve."

* * *

The next day, Konoha dispatched a team of ANBU to investigate the matter. They were quick to determine that the former holdings of the Gatoh group had hired a team of mist ninja for the assassination. Genma's killers themselves were quickly identified. A day after that, a dispatch from Tsunade came back -- "The matter has been settled. Will dispatch a new jounin sensei soon."Naruto had rebounded, managing to put on a stoic face as he officiated the quickly arranged funeral. Without telling Konoha, Naruto arranged for Anko to take on Genma's team until his replacement arrived, restricting them to class D missions only... for which they were very grateful. The busy work was more then enough to keep their minds off of their problems, and Sakura was keeping a close eye on them to make sure that they weren't burying themselves in thier work, assuring herself -- and Naruto -- that they were actually grieving as they should, and not obsessing over their work so that they could remain in denial that this had ever happened. 

A few days later, the jounin Aoba arrived, taking Anko's place...

And life went on.

* * *

Notes: Not too sure about that closing, there -- a slight departure from my normal tone. I figured it was needed, though.

RIP, Shirunai Genma. I had to kill someone off this chapter, and I'm afraid you lost the coin toss. For those who aren't aware, his killer, 'Muri,' is the name used by one of the mist ninja's Naruto, Sasuke, Kabuto, and Sakura fought during the chuunin exam in order to obtain a scroll. They reappeared in the anime (though not the manga), still as genin... although that appearance is not canon for this fic (as I don't believe it fits with the manga storyline -- in the manga, there is no point at which Naruto knows the Rasengen and he is working together with Sasuke, so there's no 'between scenes' period into which it can be placed). It's been a few years, though, so I figure they've been promoted a grade since then. (I haven't bothered to check and see what their names are according to the data books... they're, um, not going to be reappearing -- they had a meeting with Konoha's ANBU, so they'll be resting for a while... um, for a very long while. For a very VERY long while. In fact, it may be a bit of a permanent type of very peaceful rest.)

Next chapter, I decided, will be the most light-hearted of the bunch I wanted to include before Kakashi's reappearance -- just to make up for the tone of this last one. So... expect an unexpected visitor and a jealous Sakura. Until then...


	31. V3 Chapter 21

Volume 3

Notes: Very minor correction for those who caught the fic early, last time. Konohamaru is, indeed, the Third's grandson, not his son. I knew that -- must have been the painkillers. (Yeah, that's it... heh).

Okay, about the number of genin thing: I think that, given the physical size of Konoha, there are actually about a thousand active genin. I also think that some of them NEVER go through the chuunin exam, or never make it past their first one, and so on and so forth. We know there were about eighty of them at Naruto's exam. We also know some genin miss the exam due to missions. We ALSO know that genin require the recommendation of their instructor in order to go to the exam, and must participate in teams of three. Finally, we know that there must be enough ninja to act as the military service for an entire superpower, given that they've been called the military force of the nation they're in and Fire country is essentially a superpower. I figured, then, that there are maybe ten times as many genin as take the exam. So, I was using as a number of total genin in Konoha as roughly eight hundred to a thousand. To this point, my math works... but I forgot to divide by three to account for how many teams there are. Oops. Okay, there are three thousand genin teams, then... (There certainly are a lot more ninjas in Konoha then the few we've seen -- it looks like a city of tens of thousands, their primary industry is ninja service, and Konoha appears to be one of the largest such 'villages' around. The number is not stated anywhere in canon, so I can just toss it off the top of my head) Any reasonable command structure would have more lower ranked ninja to higher ranked ninja. So, for the record, in KonohaBlossom, there are 3,000 active genin, six hundred chuunin, and four hundred jounin... plus maybe two or three dozen 'elite' jounin, of which Ebisu, Kakashi, and Gai are part. Some of the genin teams are commanded by chuunin, I suppose... it makes a lot more tactical sense then having more jounin then chuunin and more chuunin then genin, which is just about the only other way things work. Otherwise, they REALLY need to read their Sun Tzu... (even he would say the division is too small -- he felt the ratio should be closer to 5 to 1 for each level of command)

I missed, somehow, that Hanabi's mother died giving her birth. Where is this stated? It isn't mentioned in the manga -- at least, not in any scene with either Hinata or Hanabi in it that I could remember to look up -- and I don't recall it from the anime, either. Is it data book info, or is it fanon? Or, like the raikirichidori thing, is it something I just completely missed? (Although I'll still point out, on that debate, that even the publisher of the manga made that same mistake in their polls -- the raikiri is more popular then the chidori, IIRC, in their popularity polls for various ninja techniques. If THEY missed it, I think I can be forgiven for missing it too, huh?) Ah, well -- it doesn't matter over much. 'Mother,' in this case, could mean 'clan matriarch.' This is not a significant problem, as things are plotted -- I just needed another major power political player in the Hyuuga clan outside of Hiashi (who is definitely the 'clan patriarch') who could play a significant role in her upbringing. A matriarch might be referred to as 'mother' just as easily as a true mother might, and would likely still have a major role in raising the children. If I were to write the side story (where I planned to have Hinata and her mother meet and have some very... interesting conversations), I'd need to know for sure, but until Volume 4 it shouldn't matter here. However, I'm going to assume her mother is still alive unless someone explains just where that 'Hanabi's mother is dead' comes from.

While I'm at it, someone commented a while ago (talking about my history of Anko) about how Orochimaru left Konoha two years after the death of the Fourth. Since I can read but don't have the wherewithal to write when I take my painkillers, I've been using the time trying to research such as that so I could figure out where it came from... and to the best of my knowledge, it's entirely fanon, based on a timeline some fan created a while ago. A timeline with VERY serious problems, as it includes (among other things) serious mistakes with regards to Kakashi's history, as it appears to have been written pre-Kakashi Gaiden and then added onto later but not corrected as KG progress.. I looked to see if it was possibly translated, in part, by the data books... and from what I can tell it wasn't. If anyone knows of an official source for such information, please let me know. The one piece of 'evidence' mentioned to me that seemed to indicate it would be two years after the Kyuubi's attack is a discussing about the Third possibly fighting with Orochimaru 'ten years ago.' That is not... quite... as certain as you'd think, as the phrase 'ten years ago' is a Japanese figure of speech which means 'as few as just under ten years and as many as roughly thirty years ago.' Oh, well. It shouldn't matter overmuch, but I'd still like to know.

On a different note, Rock village and Stone village (and Stone_s_ village) are the same thing -- different translations (the one I usually use refers to it as Rock, but I do know that the Viz translation calls it 'Stones'). Not an attempt to make a new village, in this case. Rainbow IS an original village, and so far the only one. I don't THINK I'll need to add any others, unless I have need to make a list of villages and run out of canon-created ones, or unless I need to come up with the name of another defunct village (one possibility would be if I ever named the village which later became Konoha, for example).

Okay, that's reviewer response taken care of. Enjoy the fic.

* * *

Chapter 21 

Sakura woke up to the sound of whipers. _He's having another nightmare again, isn't he? _she thought sadly, rolling out of bed.

The moment she noticed the rings under Naruto's eyes, she decided to move back in with him again -- using the convenient (and increasingly flimsy) excuse of another fight with Ino as she did. It didn't take long to discover the reasons behind his insomnia -- he had been having nightmares, violent nightmares, since he learned of Genma's death. At first, she had a hard time figuring out when he slipped into them, and felt rather useless. Then, hitting upon what she felt was a brilliant solution, she used her skills as a ninja (it _was_ her job, after all) to hide several listening devices throughout Naruto's bedroom. The end result was something akin to a baby monitor (though she would never call it such to Naruto's face) and it allowed her to hear the moment his dreams started causing him to toss and turn in his sleep.

Her slight fears of 'losing control' while living with him, again, were assuaged -- though not in a pleasant way -- the first night her monitoring system woke her up. She rushed into his bedroom and saw him thrashing on the bed. "No!" he was shouting. "I thought you were safe! I... I..."

Shaking her head, Sakura had walked over to his bed. She nearly woke him up, but decided to try and calm him instead. Gently, she stroked his brow, hoping that he would slowly relax and learn to enjoy her touch. He did manage to settle down -- and slept very hard through her treatment, considering that he _was_ a ninja and _should_ wake up at the slightest movement anywhere near him -- but Sakura was glad he had not. It made things so much easier. Since then, he'd helped him through several nights worth of these problems. He'd talked with her about what she was doing, to let her know that he was aware of what she was doing, but he had yet to talk to her about his dreams. "Some things," he sighed as he explained why, "Just don't make any sense when you're awake."

She had thought he had recovered sufficiently that day at the hospital, when he expressed his fears that she wouldn't be able to love him if he had 'so much blood' on his hands and she had accepted him nonetheless. As she quickly discovered upon realizing he was having violent nightmares every night, he had not. Vaguely, Sakura wondered how much he was sacrificing of himself to achieve his dream of becoming hokage. His only concern had always been protecting people and making them happy -- he had seemingly never considered the harsher aspects of the job: He would be ordering people to fight, and die, in their careers as ninja. Furthermore, there were other unpleasant things he would have to get people to do: there were always missions requiring a 'courtesan,' meaning he'd be prostituting some kunoichi... there were always missions which would harm an innocent, or ruin a person's life, or worse... and there was always the chance he'd have to lead people in war. People died in war -- it was inevitable -- and the number of people he would be ordering to his deaths if such a thing were to occur would be so great that... well, Sakura wasn't quite sure what would happen to him, but it'd definitely hurt him.

She checked the clock. _4 A.M. Not exactly how I wanted to start my birthday,_ she mused sardonically. It was her seventeenth, and she had made a number of plans -- some of which included Naruto, who outside of the nightmares seemed to be more-or-less back to normal -- to celebrate. Well, at least she could truthfully joke to Ino about having spent her birthday morning in her boyfriend's bed... even if they didn't really do anything.

Sliding out of bed, she haphazardly grabbed a robe and tied it around her waist. She staggered out of her own bedroom and into Naruto's. He was already awake by the time she got there, and was sitting on the bed with his head clenched in his hands. This must have been a more severe nightmare then most -- they rarely woke him up. That was more then enough to make Sakura's concern spike. Considering how hard it was to wake him, usually, the fact that this particular night's nightmare was that severe meant that he was getting worse, not better... and she was trying so hard to help him, she hurt when she couldn't. She'd thought he'd been getting better -- he hadn't had a nightmare either of the previous two nights... but apparently, she was wrong.

"Naruto?" she whispered tentatively. "Is everything alright?"

Naruto grinned up at her sadly. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. Did I wake you up, again?"

Sakura forced a smile. "That's okay, Naruto-kun. I like getting up early on my birthday... maybe not quite _this_ early, but still..."

"Your birthday!" Naruto exclaimed. "Oh, god, I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, I--"

"It's all right," she said calmly, sitting next to him and putting an arm over his shoulder, hugging him to her. As a bit of an afterthought, she mused, "As long as you remembered to buy me a birthday present, that is."

Naruto swallowed nervously. "Um... I did! Really, I did! I... um..."

She smirked at him slightly -- yes, she knew he had. She'd seen him trying to hide it away (rather successfully, actually, since she didn't see what it was), but his nervousness was rather cute. She could tease him about it, though. "If you haven't, there's still time. The party's not until seven this evening, and I'm not opening any presents until then."

"I've got a present for you!" Naruto promised. "But... I'm not sure the party is the right time to give it to you. I... it's a bit personal."

"Oh! You got me lingerie, didn't you? Naughty, naughty boy!" Sakura teased.

Naruto scooted away from her, holding his hands up in panic. "No! I'd never... well, actually, I might, but not before... look, Sakura-chan, it's not like that. Really! I--"

Sakura laughed, though she found that comment about how he 'might' rather interesting. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. Whatever it is, just give it to me after the party, okay?"

Naruto smiled slightly. "Okay, Sakura-chan."

"You might also want to give me something at the party, too, though," Sakura said, laughing. "Unless you want to deal with rumors that we're having... difficulties."

"As long as they're not true, I can deal with them. I've always had to deal with them, before, now isn't very different," Naruto said, gently pulling out of her grasp an lying back down. "Thanks, Sakura-chan, I think I'll be able to sleep now. Why don't you go back to bed?"

With a grin, she lay down next to him, pulling the covers over them both. "Good plan... I think I will. Good night!"

Naruto blinked at her, bewildered. "Sakura-chan..."

She kissed him on the corner of his mouth, half-laying on him. "Hey, I'm here, I'm comfortable, and I'm not leaving. There's nothing wrong with the two of us doing this... but don't be getting any ideas! We're just sleeping, got it?" Naruto nodded furiously, shutting up. "Good. Now, I'm tired -- let's get a couple more hours of sleep. We both need it."

* * *

It was tradition, more than anything else, that lead to the naming of every ninja village as the "Hidden Village of" whatever its people were called -- usually patterning themselves after techniques developed by whatever element they identified. The five Kage states, while they may have started out that way, were no longer entirely true to their 'elements. The First named the village Konoha, or Leaf, after his own abilities with the growing of trees and foliage... abilities no-one else in any of the clans of Konoha, or indeed in his own clan, could attain. The village of Rock was the origin of most Earth Element techniques. The village of Mist taught just about every technique involving water that existed... and so on. In other words, they tended to 'blend in' alternate styles -- Konoha, especially, as they were the result of at least four large ninja villages (and possibly several smaller ones) coming together (Shadow, Flame, Wood, and Fang) -- to round out their own techniques. Those naming traditions were still held even today -- Blossom was named, in part, because it would be a training ground -- it would have a very metropolitan style of teaching ninja skills, and it would be prodomenantly a place for the youth of Konoha -- and possibly, in time, the Sand and a few other close allies as well (although few of the current residents of Blossom were aware of that, yet), should everything go according to plan, though nominally always under the control of Konoha -- to come for training. 

However, the 'Hidden' aspect of the traditional names was no longer true, in most cases. There was no secret where Konoha was, nor were Sand, Rock, Mist, Grass, Waterfall, Cloud, Rain, nor just about any other ninja village. Even the location of the Sound was supposedly common knowledge -- there was a reason Sasuke didn't really need guides to find his way after leaving Konoha -- although there were doubts after the Sand-Sound invasion as to whether the sleepy little ninja town they had sent their embassies to was really the location of the main base of operations of Konoha's greatest enemy. The most common theory, now, was that it -- like Blossom -- was a satellite village, intended mostly for the training of cadets... but that wasn't especially relevant. The point was -- there was a place where the civilian population believes the sound to be, and where they could go to interact with Sound ninja if they so desired.

The village locations were now well known, in large part, because of how commercial being a ninja had become. It used to be that only the wealthy could hire ninja... but those days were long gone. In a desperate attempt to modernize and stay within the local economies, each 'hidden' village had opened at least a visitor's center up in their towns, advertising them for any who wished to hire their services... because otherwise, they were starve economically. That, in part, was what Zabuza had been rebelling against that lead to his exile and eventual death -- the loss of secrecy and other traditional elements which, he felt, were important in making a ninja be was a ninja was, and not some overblown samurai-for-hire with a bunch of ridiculously overpowered special techniques.

When Blossom was formed, despite the 'hidden village' tag attached to it, the location became an open secret. So, it wasn't difficult for a foriegn girl to find its location pretty easily... especially once she awarded her informer with a few _favors _of the variety she was trained in best... not the _ultimate _favors, mind, but things she was sure the boy had enjoyed, nonetheless. Furthermore, her arrival wasn't especially remarked upon, since she went straight to the easily identifiable building for foriegn visitors to check in at.

She waited in line -- it was a very short line, but there were two clients who arrived that day and only one administrative ninja to service them. Considering it took an average of an hour and a half to complete all the paperwork, two clients was a long wait. Finally, however, her turn had come, and she went up to the clerk with a well-trained sexy smile on her face and a flirtatious hint in her eye.

"Can I help you?" the bored administrative ninja said, not looking up.

"I understand that Jiraiya-sama is supposed to be living here, at the moment. Is this true?"

Hearing the voice of a pretty woman, the man looked up to find a woman who was obviously a prostitute standing across from him. His eyes widened. He, of course, knew of the legendary ninja's... less respectable reputation in certain fields outside of being a ninja, but he'd never expected him to send out for women to... entertain him. "Um... well, he comes and goes as he pleases, but he does have a home, here. Is he expecting you?"

"Probably not," the woman admitted. "I'm actually here because the... business I work for needs to hire the services of some ninja. However, I once met Jiraiya-sama when he was training a student, of his, and hoped that I could talk with him."

The admin ninja raised an eyebrow. "Jiraiya hasn't taught any students since the Fourth passed away. I find that highly unlikely."

"Really?" the woman replied, looking quite surprised. "But there was this blond boy -- it was his fourteenth birthday -- and I'm certain he was in training from the man who I know is Jiraiya-sama. I think his name was... Naruto, I believe."

The admin sputtered. "Naruto? Wow... maybe the rumors are true..."

"Rumors?" the woman asked. "What rumors?"

"Never mind, never mind," he replied, waving her off. "Okay, let's get these forms filled out, and then I'll see if Jiraiya-sama is in town and willing to meet you, okay?"

* * *

Naruto was sitting, his feet propped up on the desk in front of him, eating lunch. Sakura was there, as well, having brought food for both of them... however, she had finished her meal already. She had the day off, however, and didn't mind spending her time with her boyfriend. Hanabi was out as well -- her team had been given one of its very rare missions (a class D mission pulling weeds from an herb garden) -- so, for once, they were left alone. It surprised both of them when there was a knock on the door. 

Kicking his feet off the desk and swallowing his most recent bite of food, he called, "Come in!"

Jiraiya opened the door and strode in, smiling broadly. "Hey, Naruto! You'll never guess who just came into town! I... um, oh. Sakura-chan! I didn't know you were here..."

"I have the day off, since it's my birthday. I figured I'd spend at least some of it helping Naruto around the office. So, who showed up?"

Jiraiya hesitated. "Um... maybe I won't bother you, after all -- I don't think that you've got time to meet with them, anyway."

"Actually," Naruto said, "I've got plenty of time -- we've got a light day, today. Who is it?"

"Er... Sakura-chan, could you leave for a moment? This person is... um, a bit of a secret," Jiraiya explained.

"That's okay," Naruto proclaimed as Sakura eyed the perverted legend suspiciously. "Sakura-chan can keep a secret."

Jiraiya winced, knowing that he was in trouble now. And so was Naruto, but the poor boy just wouldn't take the hint. "Are you sure? I mean, she might not want to know about this..."

"Of course I'm sure!" Naruto replied, bewildered.

"Indeed," Sakura added dangerously. "Now, I'm especially curious as to just who it is who 'just came into town.'"

_Well, I tried to warn you, kid,_ Jiraiya thought. "Um, okay. Come on out, miss."

The prostitute who had arrived that morning came out from behind the door, smiling slightly -- not one of her sexy smiles, but rather a proud one. "Long time, no see, Naruto," she said.

"Naruto, Sakura-chan, let me present Kireme Sakura..."

Sakura frowned, wondering just why Jiraiya would be bringing such a woman here, expecting Naruto to be happy. She knew how loyal Naruto was, after all, so why would he be surprised to see a prostitute. She turned to Naruto to see his reaction. He looked quite confused, at first, but then his face lit up with recognition. He stood up, pointing at her enthusiastically.

"You!" he cried happily. "I never expected to see you, again. So, you're a Sakura-chan, too, huh?"

"Yes," the older Sakura replied, blushing slightly and bowing her head. "That was why what you said shook me up so much, after all."

It was the younger Sakura's turn to look confused, but before she had much of a chance to think about it -- and just after a vague idea was forming on her head -- Naruto confirmed just how he knew the woman.

"You remember me telling you about her, Sakura-chan, right?" he said, looking at his girlfriend. "She's the girl who I got those oils from..."

_Oh,_ she thought, turning a new, appraising eye on the woman. _So this is_ that _woman_. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, with a good body, long legs, and perfect grooming. This was the only other woman to touch Naruto in the same way she had. Seeing her, now, the younger Sakura could understand why Naruto -- who she knew was as hormone-driven as any other boy out there from personal experience, even if he seemed to have better control over those urges then most -- would have allowed this woman to give him that massage. In fact, his refusal to engage in anything more than a massage with her made her respect for Naruto rise a notch. Still, she couldn't help but feel... at least a little jealous at how this woman had been the first to touch Naruto certain places. Well, at least there were places niether one of them had yet to touch, and she knew she was in a much better position to be the one to deliver those final pleasures.

The older woman distracted her from her thoughts, though, as she descended on her with great enthusiasm. "So, you're _that_ 'Sakura-chan,' huh?" she said, looking her up and down. "How are things going between you two? I've heard some of the story, since my arrival, so I know you're finally dating him, but I'd like to hear it from your own mouth."

"So you're _that_ woman from the brothel, eh, Kireme-san?" Haruno Sakura replied, finding herself unable to answer. Her effervescence was so great that she couldn't help but like the woman, despite feeling rather jealous and a bit unnerved knowing what she did for a living. "And, to answer your question, things are going fine. We're taking our time and enjoying this relationship as much as we can."

"That's good," Kireme said, smiling. "I was very touched when Naruto said he was going to be loyal for you, despite your wanting some other boy, and you can't imagine how happy I was to hear that you changed your mind. Loyalty like that... is a very precious thing, Sakura-chan. Treasure it."

Oddly warmed by the honesty behind that smile, the younger Sakura nodded. "I will, Kireme-san. Thank you."

"I'd like to talk with you while I'm in town," Kireme added.

"Why are you in town, anyway?" Sakura asked, curious... and a little jealousy still making her hope that, whatever the reason, the stay wouldn't be too long.

Kireme's smile fell a bit. "Well... the brothel I work at sent me here. We've... been having problems. Problems we're afraid we'll need ninja protection to handle."

Naruto was suddenly all business. "What kind of problems?" he asked.

"We're being... harrassed," she answered. "A rather odd-sounding thing for a brothel to complain about, isn't it? Even a high-class one like ours."

"What kind of harrassment?" Jiraiya asked, showing an unusual amount of concern.

"Well, first it was obnoxious, loud, annoying customers -- the kind a high-class brothel like ours throws out unserviced," she explained. "We usually get one or two a month, but we started getting dozens of them a day. Then incidents of small-time vandalism, the chasing away of our regular clients, and the opening of a new brothel just down the street from us. A brothel owned by the Kaigara Corporation, which used to belong to an organization I've heard you've had dealings with before: The Gatoh Group."

All three people in the room stiffened, and Naruto's mouth flattened into a grim line. "Yes," he finally said. "We've dealt with them, before. Unfortunately, this assignment will be out of our league, as there is a high probability of the need to combat foriegn ninja on a mission involving them, which would be at least a B class mission, and we're only equipped for C-class missions and below. I'll have to refer it directly to Konoha -- we aren't precisely forbidden from entering into A or B class missions, but we must get the Hokage's permission first. And... I'm not sure your brothel can afford it."

The prostitute sighed. "Yes, I was afraid of that. Well, my instructions were -- if we could not afford to hire you to help protect us from this Kaigara Corporation, then I should ask you if you would assist us in finding a new site where we can relocate our business -- and our employees -- to where we would be safe from Kaigara and other, similar, organizations."

The younger Sakura winced, considering what it would be like to escort a company of prostitutes from one town to another. She already began drawing up the escort roster -- she wouldn't want any men as part of that mission, after all; there was no telling what a team of boys would do with that kind of temptation.

"Well," Naruto mused. "There are a few places where you'd be safe. We're in Wave Country, which has a law forbidding any businesses which were once connected to the Gatoh organization from ever operating in its borders. Some villages in Fire country, Konoha included, have passed similar laws. There are a number of places you could be relocated to, and such an operation could probably be ruled as a C-class, since the Gatoh -- I mean, Kaigara Corporation would be unlikely to hire ninja to harass you on your way out of the territories they have targetted. Hmm..."

"Hey!" Jiraiya exclaimed, a perverted smile on his face. "I bet you that your business could move here! Blossom doesn't have a brothel, yet!"

"Blossom doesn't _need_ a brothel," Sakura pointed out flatly. "As it is a ninja town, and ninja towns rarely require the services of a brothel."

Naruto considered things for a moment. "Actually... I think it's a good idea," he finally said.

"Naruto!" his girlfriend exclaimed, feeling betrayed.

"I... forgive me, Naruto-kun," Kireme said, wincing, "But I would rather we not interfere in yours and Sakura-chan's relationship, so--"

"This has nothing to do with me," Naruto exclaimed, facing down both Sakuras. "Look, Sakura-chan, you're right -- this _is_ a ninja town. Most ninja towns don't require the services of a brothel." He paused. "Most ninja towns have kunoichi in courtesan training, instead."

The pink-haired girl blushed to match her hair. "Naruto, we don't train kunoichi as courtesans so they actually _become_ courtesans -- rather, we train them so that they can fit in as one if they must go undercover in a location where being a courtesan is ideal."

"I know," Naruto agreed. "But... didn't the puppy lady herself pulled out of courtesan training, herself? She's not eligible to teach, and she's the only female in this town who's even had the basic lessons. Sakura-chan... when the time comes that you and Ino -- or at least one of our girl genin -- turns twenty, they may need the training. We don't have anyone who can teach them around here. And believe it or not, Kireme-chan," he added, deciding to call the older Sakura by her family name in the future, "You proved a great help during my own training, just from your own simple suggestions."

"Konoha could send someone," Sakura protested, blushing even further at the thought of attending such lessons herself. She was actually safe from the requirement, being too valuable as a medical ninja to be 'risked' on the hazards involved in courtesan duty, but she understood his point. She just felt that there were better ways... ways which didn't involve letting this rather nice young woman who seemed to know all the tricks and had some sort of attachment to _her_ boyfriend stay in Blossom that long.

"Yes, it could," Naruto admitted. "It probably will, unless we make some sort of arrangement beforehand. But we _do_ have an opportunity to make an 'arrangement beforehand,' so why not use it?"

Sakura opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to think of a reason why not. She tried to think of someone from Konoha who might come in and teach, instead, but unfortunately the only woman she knew who had completed the entire course was Yuuhi Kurenai, the jounin instructor for Hinata's team of genin... and the woman who, according last letter she'd recieved from one of her non-ninja friends back in Konoha, recently got engaged to Sarutobi Asuma, and so -- if even half of the rumors she'd heard about Kunoichi training were true -- wouldn't be interested in teaching. It would be a complete stranger sent to Blossom... and would a complete stranger really be any worse then this friendly-seeming woman she had just met?

"I'm, um, not sure we're qualified to instruct ninja," Kireme pointed out. "Don't you, I don't know, use special... um, things? I'm really out of my element here..."

"Actually," Sakura mused, "Most of the ninjitsu is stuff I already know -- it's largely, according to Hana-chan, birth control techniques, special pressure points, and so forth -- things _any_ medical ninja would know. What niether I nor Hana-chan have are the, um, traditional practices of courtesans. Well, we both know how to give a massage, now, but other than that..."

"It's a lot more fun finding out for yourself," Kireme noted. "But you won't necessarily know everything if you do it that way. I suppose we could... help. But would there be a market for a brothel in a small ninja town like this one?" Jiraiya nodded, smiling broadly. "Besides the one from the legendary pervert here?"

"Well, Jiraiya isn't the only pervert in town," Naruto noted. "We've got the closet pervert... um, Ebisu, I think his name really is..."

"Ebisu's a closet pervert?" Sakura asked, astonished. "So that's who you meant all those times. But... how is he a closet pervert?"

Naruto chose not to answer that one, not wanting to explain to Sakura about the first time (and, so far, only time in practice) he'd ever used the 'harem no jutsu.' "Then there's Kakashi-sensei. He's always reading those perverted books ero-sennin writes."

"Hey, he's not the only one!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "My books are a best-seller!"

"They're boring," Naruto shot back. "I've read them, remember?"

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, shocked yet again.

He flushed. "Um... well, anyway... there are a lot of ninja who would be likely to use your brothel's... services." He got a lot more serious as he turned to look at Kireme. "There comes a certain point in every ninja's career, if he's good enough to recieve the tougher missions, where he or she realizes that every mission they go on might be their last. This tends to encourage them to do certain things some people might consider perverted, including visiting brothels, in order to relieve the stress. I am not one of them -- my way of the ninja prevents me from being disloyal to the woman I have chosen." At this, his girlfriend blushed brighter then she had the entire time they had been talking. "But I certainly understand those ninja who do. You will have plenty of clients." He paused, and looked at Jiraiya. "And you'll have him, regardless -- from what the old hag who used to work with him told me, he was a pervert even before he became a ninja. She seems to think he's been a pervert since birth."

"Yes," Sakura laughed, recovering from the embarrassment of Naruto's declaration. "Tsunade-shishou has said that on occasion, as I recall."

Kireme hesitated, then nodded. "Well... I don't know how my employer will take that, but I'll pass along your recommendation to her. Can we count on your taking the mission?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, nodding. "I'll need to take a look at your request forms, assign a priority, negotiate a price, and all that, but yeah, I think we can do that."

"You'll have to stay here in the meantime," Sakura pointed out. "Since you're here... I'm having a birthday party tonight. Would you like to come?"

"Oh, thank you," Kireme replied, smiling. "I look forward to talking with the young woman who inspired such loyalty in a man like Naruto."

_

* * *

Oh, I'm so __sure you wanted to come to my party_ just _so thatyou could talk to me,_ Sakura thought to herself, sarcastically. She was staring at the corner of the room, where her boyfriend was engaged in deep conversation with a prostitute. One she'd come to actually like, oddly enough, but a prostitute nonetheless... and during her _birthday party,_ too! Still... she knew he would be loyal to her. Loyalty did not mean sensitivity, however... so just Sakura thought to herself, sarcastically. She was staring at the corner of the room, where her boyfriend was engaged in deep conversation with a prostitute. One she'd come to actually like, oddly enough, but a prostitute nonetheless... and during her too! Still... she knew he would be loyal to her. Loyalty did not mean sensitivity, however... 

"Relax," Ino said, coming up behind her. "He's just catching up with her. She's not going to take him from you."

"Oh, I know that," Sakura agreed bitterly. "Naruto is mine, and no-one and nothing is going to take him from me. I don't think she's trying to, either... no, I'm not worried about it. I'm just... I'm jealous that she is getting all of his attention during _my_ birthday party. I realize I'm being a little selfish to say that, but this is the one day in the year when I'm entitled to be perfectly selfish about things like that. And how do you know he's just catching up with her?"

Ino smirked at the other girl's declaration of ownership over the boy. Yes, it was true, but it was still amusing. "I'm not certain, of course," she answered. "In fact, every time I got near them, Naruto clammed up. But while the Naruto I know best may be the Naruto of three years ago, I still know how he thinks about things like this. He's catching up, because someone he made friends with showed up unexpectedly -- it's not that he doesn't love you, it's that there's another person who, as he puts it, 'recognizes' him in town, and he's glad to have a chance to talk with them. Because he's had so few friends in his life, finding another one is always pleasant... even if he's now getting a lot more friends."

Sakura smiled. "Yes, he's definitely getting more friends. Especially among our students... they hero-worship him, I think."

"_I_ hero-worship him," Ino laughed. "It's not something to be ashamed of. He is a hero, after all, even if most people don't know about the most heroic things he's done. You've got a good boy, there, Sakura-chan... I envy you."

"Thanks," she replied. Then she turned and glared in that corner, again. "But just because I understand it, I'm not going to stop being jealous. I want Naruto here, by my side, dammit, and he isn't."

Ino laughed. "Well, Naruto's reputation for stupidity does have its merits -- he's completely clueless, after all, which makes him seem less intelligent then he actually is. Sometimes, that cluelessness makes him do things like forget to pay attention to the woman he loves most in the whole world on her birthday..."

Sakura winced. "Yes, I suppose that's true."

Suddenly, the discussion over in Naruto's corner of the room seemed to have ended. Naruto stood up and dashed off, while Kireme -- who had changed into an outfit which did not proclaim that she was a prostitute to the whole world, but instead actually looked quite conservative and very nice on her -- started laughing. She stood up and walked over to where Sakura and Ino were chatting.

"You've got quite a boy there," the older woman said, a smile showing restrained laughter on her face. "Even if he is a bit... indelicate, at times."

"Where is he going?" Sakura asked, annoyed.

"To, in his words, 'take a piss,'" the prostitute laughed. "Now, I have to say I've heard worse language in my day... but that's not the sort of thing you'd expect to hear from a man in his position... especially considering some of the things we were talking about tonight."

"What were you talking about that had him so interested?" Sakura huffed. "It's my birthday party, after all -- no offense, but I'd really rather he paid more attention to me then to a... well... um... how can I put this politely?"

"A whore?" Kireme suggested, unashamed. "A call girl? A prostitute? A geisha? A courtesan? I've been called many things, some of them flattering, some of them not. And it's perfectly understandable why you wouldn't want your boyfriend to be talking to me, but I assure you that you have nothing to fear from me."

Sakura blushed. "Well, I wasn't really worried about that," she said. "I know that Naruto's loyal to me. But... but it is my birthday, and if he really is serious about being in love with me--"

"He is."

"Then he should try and spend it with me."

The older woman just laughed. "Oh, I imagine if I hadn't shown up, he would have. But he has been wanting to talk to someone for a while about you, and there wasn't anyone here he could talk to... so, he took advantage of an opportunity, and came to me."

"What did he want to talk with you about?" Sakura asked, suspiciously. "Is he... not happy about something?"

Kireme giggled. "No, I don't think so."

"Then why couldn't he come to me about it?" she asked. "I'm willing to hear anything he wants to tell me, you know."

"I know," Kireme agreed, not able to stop smiling. "But that doesn't mean he can tell you just anything, you know. He just... wanted some perspective, is all -- he was afraid of talking to you about certain things, not because he didn't think you'd refuse to talk about it, or hate him for mentioning it... but rather because he was afraid by talking with you about it, he'd be pushing for something you might not be ready for."

"He could have talked with me," Ino pointed out, interjecting herself into the conversation. "Or even Hana-chan -- they've been developing a mutual mentor-student relationship with each other, so I'm sure she'd be willing to give advice."

"Yes, he might have talked with this 'Hana' person you all keep mentioning -- I have yet to meet her, mind, but apparently she's my 'biggest competition' over the men, here, according to some of your... uh, civilians. However, she is apparently 'unavailable' right now, or something like that, so Naruto-kun was unable to talk with her." Kireme regarded the blond girl briefly. "You're Ino, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Ino replied, only just realizing that she had yet to properly introduce herself to the other woman.

"Thought so. He said he was afraid of talking with you for the same reason he was afraid of talking with Sakura-chan... or Sakura-chan's mother, for that matter."

Sakura considered that for a moment. "If... if he really needed to talk with someone like that, he could have talked with Anko-chan..."

"Anko," Kireme explained, "Is someone he told me was 'mentoring' you. Is that true?"

"No! We... well, we just talk about a few things on occasion. We were supposed to train with her to fight Orochimaru, but... well, we've actually worked more with Jiraiya-sama then her lately."

"At any rate," Kireme continued, "He wasn't entirely clear on how close the two of you were, so he didn't know if he should talk to her, either. He was really quite thorough in explaining why I was the only person he could talk to -- and he definitely needed to talk to someone." She smiled. "I think you'll like the results of our conversation, even if you don't... um, never mind. I can't say anything."

"Why not?"

"It would ruin the surprise," she answered, winking.

* * *

Kireme retired to the hostel, where she was being roomed in while her 'client status' was reviewed, shortly after talking with Sakura. Naruto returned to the party -- and finally took the position by Sakura's side that she'd been longing for the whole night -- shortly thereafter. Soon came the time for her to open presents, and she had a delightful time forgetting her jealousy and frustration over Naruto's visit with the other Sakura earlier that evening and allowed herself to enjoy the happiness that came with each new package to open. 

Some of the gifts were, as apparently intended, a little embarrassing. For example, her mother gave her some nicely-framed family photos -- which weren't embarrassing, in and of themselves -- that included a note -- which was -- declaring that both of her parents were willing to "come and help redecorate your new place -- We remember how hard it was to learn how to keep both your father and myself in mind when we moved in together." Her mother had just figured out that Sakura had moved in with Naruto and, despite her constant protests that it was just a temporary thing, she was still being teased about it constantly. Another present in this vein came from the absent Hana, who had left as a gag gift a book on the art of massage (which also happened to include, as a bookmark, a gift certificate to the local book store for its grand opening, as well).

Some presents were quite practical. Anko had given her a special kunai, which she had been told was something which had been made by her 'former lover,' that was slightly larger then usual and had a bone handle. The wink in the jounin's eye when Sakura opened it letting her know that it came from the Fourth. It was oddly balanced, but somehow felt right in her hand anyway. She'd have to practice with it to see how well it really worked.

A nice dress came from Ino, some sweets and flowers and the like came from her students, and even Jiraiya got her a gift... although she wasn't exactly sure what to do with the 'Complete Collector's Edition of Icha Icha Paradise.' She wasn't exactly a fan of hentai manga... (well, she didn't exactly discount something because it was a hentai manga, but the small number of illicit literature she did own was a lot more tasteful then anything Jiraiya have even contemplated writing). True to his word, though, Naruto held off on giving her his gift during the party.

However, he had promised to give it to her in private, and at the moment he was carrying her new presents over to their home. Sakura was still intending to move back to Ino's once Naruto was over his nightmares, but she didn't see any reason to take the trip there -- nothing they were carrying would need to be moved once she left. She still stayed over at Naruto's often enough for some basic comforts to be left on hand, and nothing she'd been given that day (save perhaps the flowers and sweets, which she expected to be gone long before she left) needed to be taken when she left. Well, maybe the special kunai, if she wanted to practice with it some, but she'd want that with her as long as she was staying at Naruto's, anyway.

They chatted amiably the entire way back, but the moment they got through the door to his apartment, Naruto dumped everything on her bed and left, shooting a quick, "Be right back," over his shoulder.

Shaking her head, Sakura started putting things away -- starting with hanging up the dress Ino gave her before it wrinkled. It was nice to have something that could expand her 'dating' wardrobe, considering how few items of clothing she had in that regards... although she obviously wouldn't be surprising anyone with this outfit. They'd all seen it, already.

Naruto returned a moment later, carrying a package. It was poorly wrapped -- he'd obviously done the job himself -- but that didn't matter to Sakura. She wasn't sure what to expect -- he could be so clueless about some things that she wouldn't be surprised if it was a lifetime supply of ramen or something silly like that -- but she was prepared to love it no matter what it was. He offered it to her silently, a nervous grin on his face and one arm behind his head, running his hand through his hair nervously.

Sakura took the package, giving him a reassuring smile. "Hm... now what did you give me, huh?" she said, weighing it gingerly in her hand without opening it.

"It's a surprise," Naruto explained, a slight tremor in his voice. "And I'll need to explain something once you've seen it."

"It's a good thing you aren't dating Hinata-chan," Sakura mused, peeling at the tape.

Naruto shook his head, still not understanding why she insisted on trying to save the wrapping paper. He'd argued with her over it at the party, but apparently she just had to do things her way. Deciding to avoid the topic, he instead focused on another. "Why? And why would you even mention Hinata anyway?"

Sakura paused, blinking up at him. "Surely you knew she had the largest crush on you? Has for years..."

Naruto's eyes widened. "She... she did? But I don't even know her!"

"You fell in love with me before you knew who I was," Sakura mused, returning to the package. "At least, that's what Ino tells me."

"Yeah, but then I tried everything I could to learn who you were and to get you to learn who I was," Naruto explained. "I've said all of, what, ten sentences to her? And she's barely ever said a word to me!"

"She was too shy to ever say anything to you," Sakura pointed out. "And I suspect she's moved on, since she hasn't seen you at all over the past three years. She's got too many problems to worry about it, anyway."

"Hm," Naruto hummed, thinking about that. "Well... yeah, I suppose she does. But why is it so good for me that I'm dating you and not her? Besides the obvious thing about me having been in love with you since I first saw you, that is."

"Because," Sakura said, finally peeling off the last piece of tape from the present. "You'd never be able to hide any secrets like this from her. Byakuugan and all, you know."

"Oh, right," he replied, still not seeing the point. Why would Hinata have used a powerful jutsu like that just to figure out what she was getting for her birthday, anyway?

"She's always been a rather... curious... girl," Sakura pointed out, unwrapping many layers of paper. "I once caught her standing outside of one of the community bath houses, using her family technique to peak on the boys. She wasn't being _too_ perverted -- she didn't leer at anyone, or anything like that -- but she was still peaking, if for no other reason then because she just wanted to know what a naked guy looked like. She was blushing... like... Naruto, what are these?" Finally pulled the gift out of the package, and was a bit surprised at what she saw. "I mean, I know they're bracers, but these look real old. Where in the world did you get them?"

The forearm guards, or bracers as they were more commonly known, must have been ancient. They were made of dulled bronze and antique leather -- it was well maintained, but the small cracks along the edges showed its age anyway -- and had the spiral decoration that was common in Konoha. Careful examination revealed it to be lined on the inside to prevent chaffing, yet the bronze was mostly decoration -- revealed by a slight fraying in the lining, a series of steel plates were bound by the leather. Dents and scratches showed that it wasn't just for show -- it had been used, and often, in combat. And, surprisingly, it had a pair of hidden sleeves for kunai to be stashed... but not a normal kunai. Instead, one just like what Anko had given her.

"The Third gave them to me, once," Naruto explained. "He told me it was the only Uzumaki clan property that was still in my family's name -- most of the rest of it had been sold off or was inherited by others, and a number of titles to my clan's land were lost about the same time as the attack by Kyuubi."

Her eyes widened. "Naruto-kun... I cannot accept this. It must mean too much to you -- it's the last connection between you and your family, so you must keep it."

"I can't use it," Naruto replied, shrugging. "It's designed for girls, and it wouldn't fit on my, anyway."

"Nevertheless--" Sakura protested.

"Besides," he continued. "I couldn't imagine a better gift for someone who I intend to ask to join my family."

She froze. Was he doing what she thought he was doing? "Naruto... did you... did you just propose to me?"

He got down on his knee in front of her. "Sakura-chan, I know we are very young, but I do love you more than life, itself. I'm certain that you are the only person I will ever want to marry... the only thing I'm not certain of what you want. Sakura... will you marry me?"

Slowly, Sakura set the bracers down on her bed, allowing her hair to fall and obscure her eyes. "Naruto-kun," she answered. "I will keep your gift... in trust. But I will not wear it yet..."

"I... is that yes, or no?" Naruto asked, confused.

She smiled, and a tear dropped from somewhere behind her hair. "Naruto, I will marry you one day, so I suppose that it is a yes... but it's also a 'not yet.' I'm going to keep the bracers... but I won't wear them until I am ready. Then, and only then, will I consider I properly engaged." She looked up, her hair parting naturally to reveal eyes crying out of happiness. "I love you, Naruto-kun... but I'm not going to marry you for quite a while, so don't expect to see these again for a while."

Naruto grinned. "As long as the answer is 'yes,' the time doesn't matter to me," he laughed, pulling her into a fierce embrace. "I love you, Sakura-chan." His kiss ended the discussion for the night, and their kisses continued for quite some time. And, while they remained chaste, they shared the bed again for the whole night... and Naruto's nightmares ended.

* * *

Notes: Well, after the long (for this fic) delay, here's a larger-then-normal chapter to tide you over. I'm still not happy with that last line -- the content is exactly what I want, but somehow I can't seem to phrase it properly without it sounding either too forced, or too trite, in my own mind. It might just be because I've struggled so much during this chapter (I don't know if it's the drugs or something else, but even when I could write things didn't seem to flow as well as they have been) or something like that, but I decided not to worry about it and just post it. You've been waiting long enough. (I almost split the chapter in half, at one point, since it had grown long enough... I decided against it, however, in the end). 

I'm still not fully recovered, although my medication is only supposed to last another day or so (and I'm not supposed to take any more after that for a VERY long time, regardless of what else happens -- if I need a painkiller, I'm supposed to take something else. My doctor said he was stretching things, as it was, by giving me as much painkiller medication as he did) , so I have no idea how long it will be until the next chapter. Sorry.

To let you know just how much this story has evolved, I started this fic with six pages of notes to summarize what would be happening in all four volumes. Between deciding what techniques each character would be able to perform, minor subplots which I had to work out because of story evolution, figuring out how the rank structure, pay structure, the clan system, etc. would work, certain bits of additional history of Konoha, certain concepts I later decided to abandon (and what to put in thier place), and things like that... well, my notes have now topped one hundred pages. (It's all hand-written, so no, I can't send them to any of you. I may be willing to type up the original six pages -- some day -- but not until the fic is complete). Yet to reassure you that I haven't lost track of where I'm going, the fic has yet to deviate in any significant way from the original six pages...

Those of you wondering about my portrayal of the prostitute(s?) in this story, I want to make one thing clear: I don't support the practice of prostitution in the United States. However, there have (historically) been societies where being a prostitute was one of the highest callings available to a woman. In ancient Greece, only the prostitutes were allowed outside of their own homes -- and they could have as much political power as men (in other words, only the prostitutes had equality). In Japan, geisha were considered high-class prostitutes for a reason: They weren't just prostitutes, but the product of the best education their society would provide a woman outside of either the nobility or the priesthood (and, in many cases, even better then either of those two paths). For those of a religious bent (and, believe it or not, I am one of them), some of the greatest heros of both Jewish history and Christian religon were, in fact, prostitutes (Rachel, for example, who saved the two Jewish spies, and the same Mary who, according to some Gnostic texts (the legitimacy of which are questionable, but the DaVinci Code makes good use of them), was the wife of Jesus Christ were both prostitutes... and that's just off the top of my head. I'm certain there are other examples I could find if I looked hard enough). In modern society, at least in the U.S. (I cannot speak for other societies in this world, as I am not much of a world traveller), however, prostitution is NOT a high-class career for women, and I have a hard time feeling as if there is a justifiable reason for a woman to enter into that... profession, in this day and age, given how much more opportunity there is for women in modern society. However, as I needed a prostitute (and courtesan training, etc.) for several aspects of this story -- one of which is to make ninja society as it is portrayed in Naruto functional -- I figured I could go ahead and make the prostitutes of this fic in the same mold as those of historic times, where prostitution was, indeed, a justifiable enterprise. Namely, because it would be a higher-class job then others available to women in Naruto society could apply for (outside of ninja -- Konoha and Sand both seem strangely absent of brothels, whereas Jiraiya found several while travelling outside of those ninja towns), the standards for becoming a prostitute would be higher. They'd have to look good, be reasonably well-educated, emotionally sturdy enough to talk with world leaders about anything -- including international politics -- and so forth. In this vein, the prostitutes in Naruto (for the purposes of this fic) are more like the women in Ancient Greece and the geisha of Japan then like, say, the ordinary modern prostitute, or even someone you'd be able to hire in a business dealing with legal prostitution in a modern society.

There's a small dig at what I felt was a small plot hole in the Tea Country filler arc in the chapter above -- namely, the 'hunt' for the Sound village, as if Konoha had no idea where it was! It seems to me that, if the Sound were known enough to be invited to participate in the Chuunin exam, their home village's location should also be known. Not a big deal, I suppose, but don't come after me with how my interpretation is flawed because of Tea Country. Gah -- the fillers are getting worse and worse. Help us, somebody! Save our anime from itself! Bring in Kakashi Gaiden! (that's where the fillers SHOULD have been put, anyway, if we had to have fillers -- there's ample space for filler arcs, there, whereas Naruto's losing valuable training time running a bunch of stupid missions in filler arcs...)

Well, at least one person guessed correctly who the 'unexpected visitor' would be. There were a number of other guesses, however, so I guess it wasn't too obvious... (I love hearing people's speculation about how the story is coming out -- both when it's right and when it's wrong. It rarely effects the story, much, but it usually gives me something to think about).

Next chapter: A couple of options still available. I think I'll go with this one -- Hanabi tries to do what she believes is her duty as a Hyuuga, but Naruto prevents her. Until next time!


	32. V3 Chapter 22

Volume 3

Notes: Someone asked for a time skip this chapter until 'after the new class in Blossom has graduated.' Um... there will be timeskips, but at this point there's nothing that dramatic (you're talking about eight or nine months of time skipped). There are still things that have to happen before Kakashi returns, and there's still the Chuunin exam for the current genin after he gets back, and there's at least one other thing I want to have happen, first, so I can't make that dramatic a time skip for you. Sorry.

People are asking when Naruto will learn that Anko is his mother. I wouldn't have addressed this if it was just one person who said it, since it's a bit too big of a spoiler, but I had more than one question about it, so... I'll say something. I won't answer that question, however -- nor will I answer if she even does or not before the end -- but I will say that the important bit about that subplot will occur in Vol. 4, so don't expect anything like that until then. I'm going to try and fit her into the occasional background scene between now and then, just so that her storyline will keep 'fresh,' but there won't be any major developments for a while. I'll admit she's been lost a bit while I try to juggle the 'delayed fire' storylines I've been developing, so I'll try and include a character development scene with her at some point -- maybe not this chapter, but soon.

My doctor said that, because of the odd way I hurt my back, a back brace is not a good idea. However, I don't need to worry about it much longer -- I'm significantly better, and in a week or so I should be at the point where I won't even realize I ever hurt it (or so he says). Thankfully, my back problem isn't as bad as an on-again, off-again (formerly much closer, but things are a bit confusing right now... I know some of my older readers may recall certain soap operas between the two of us) girlfriend's back problem -- she can't recieve a back massage without throwing her back out and temporarily paralizing herself below her lower back. She fell off a horse many years ago, and her spine healed oddly... I don't understand all of the details, but I've seen the results at least once. As always, my own health problems are insignificant compared to hers... sigh (the only time I ever got any sympathy for an injury from her was when I broke my toe... because she was the one who broke it. Other then that, it's always been sort of a 'so what?' type of thing for her -- she'll try and be nice about it, but I can tell just by looking at her that she's always thinking 'what are YOU complaining about? I've got (fill in the blank).

Someone going through the earlier chapters of this fic asked about my evaluation of Orochimaru as stronger then Jiraiya, after the Sannin battle in the canon ended in a draw. I mentioned this because I believe Jiraiya, as the Toad Master, is going to match up with the toad master from real Japanese myth. Namely, the Toad master beats the slug master, the slug master beats the snake master, and the snake master beats the toad master -- according to the myth from which Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade's names are taken by Kishimoto. (I suspect, in canon, this means that Sakura is going to be the one who has to defeat Sasuke, not Naruto, but I may not go that route in this fic). Or rather, what little bit of a nod I'm giving to that myth has already taken place -- Sakura 'beat' Sasuke by refusing to join him, and instead staying with Naruto (Slug 'beats' Snake). Naruto has already lost to Sasuke in a canon battle (Snake 'beats' toad). Naruto has won the heart of Sakura (Toad 'beats' slug). It's more than that, of course -- I wouldn't base my power rankings exclusively on that myth -- but that's what I'm going to CLAIM is the basis behind Jiraiya being weaker then Orochimaru for the purpose of responding to that review. He also felt that I made the jounin weak in this fic -- not quite sure how he comes by that belief, but what I did do was make Naruto and Sakura -- really, the entire 'rookie nine' and the remaining genin who made it through stage two of the Chuunin exam in canon (i.e., Gaara and co., Neji and co.) -- stronger then the average genin. So much stronger that they're probably stronger then most of the chuunin in Konoha -- unprecedentedly stronger. In other words, instead of a 'legendary sannin,' we're talking about a 'legendary fifteen,' say. Or something like that...

* * *

Chapter 22

Things had run fairly smoothly in Blossom since the day of Sakura's birthday party. About a week after it had taken place, he had dispatched a team consisting of Hana, Futaba, Hanabi, and -- substituting for Daichi, as his Sakura had said not to send any boys on the mission -- Moegi. They were to evacuate the brothel and escort its residents and employees to Blossom, keeping them all safe. He also sent Ino, as well, as he felt this was almost a borderline B-rank mission considering the involvement of the Gatoh group. They were still gone, but he had recieved a dispatch from them a day earlier, letting him know they were back in friendly territory and likely to be back in Blossom soon. All was well, it seemed, for Blossom.

_The same can't be said for Konoha, though, _Naruto mused, once again reviewing a top secret report sent to him by Tsunade, detailing the events surrounding the latest crisis. He had enacted a secret moratorium on the news, not wanting to panic anybody -- especially not his genin -- and so far things were being kept quiet. He didn't like going through other people's personal mail, however, but he had no choice if he wanted to keep things secret.

Sakura walked in without knocking, gave him a greeting kiss on the cheek, and then sat down at Hanabi's desk. She was filling in while the genin was away -- in part, to spend more time with Naruto -- and so she didn't have to say anything to explain why she was there. Naruto noticed a rather odd look on her face, though, and couldn't help but mention it.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Not really," Sakura sighed. "My parents just found out about, um, the birthday present."

Sakura still refused to acknowledge that she was his fiance. Whenever she wanted to refer to that moment, she always called it her 'birthday present.' Naruto couldn't understand why -- she had said yes, hadn't she? Still, he accepted it, and allowed her the use of the euphamism. Perhaps it was just as she said -- she wanted to keep their engagement a secret for a while, so she didn't want to refer to it by name until she was ready to go public -- but he wasn't sure if that was true.

It seemed, however, as if that secrecy had been broken, somehow. "Well, is that a bad thing?" Naruto asked uncertainly.

"Again, not really," Sakura replied. "Mom's thrilled, and dad doesn't seem to mind. It's just... well, that was partly _why_ I wanted to keep things secret, for now. I'm not ready to get married, but... well, now they'll start pressing me to set a date, they'll try 'helping' us pick out what to wear and where to hold it, they'll be teasing and joking about us becoming an 'old married couple like them' -- they already started on that last one -- and so on. It's... almost like the wedding will be looming over us, you know?"

Naruto frowned. "Do you want me to talk to them? Maybe I could ask them to stop?"

"Don't you dare!" Sakura snapped, reacting so fast she almost gagged on her own spit. "That'd only make things worse!"

Naruto shrugged, settling back in his chair. "Whatever. So, how many people does this make it who know, now? Kireme-chan, your parents... does Ino-chan know?"

"She guessed," Sakura answered. "Kireme wasn't as discrete as she could have been -- while she didn't say anything explicit, Ino-chan was able to put two and two together and figured out what you were going to do." She paused. "I... I think you should tell Anko-chan."

"Me?" Naruto wondered. "Why me? I barely know her, outside of our training. Why should she know, anyway? I mean, yeah, she's a friend of yours, but I didn't think the two of you were that close..."

"I think it would be better coming from you," Sakura explained, glossing over the question of why she thought Anko should know.

"Why?" Naruto asked, confused.

Sakura hesitated. She didn't want to reveal the real reason, but she was sure she could come up with one. She thought for a moment. "Well... I don't really want to tell her," she finally said, then decided on an excuse for telling Anko as well. "I'm not sure how she'd take it. But... I think you should -- after all, when it comes to the fight with Orochimaru, you'll be the lead in whatever fight we have. I know _that_ much for certain, after all. And Anko-chan was the one who was warning us about how Orochimaru could use, well, our love for each other against us... I just thought you should get whatever warnings we'll need. I don't want to deal with the inevitable teasing -- again -- just because I told her instead of you."

Naruto seemed to consider that. "Well, I--" There was a knock on the door. "Come in!" he called.

"Inari-san," Sakura greeted the unexpected arrival as he walked through the door. "What brings you here, today?"

Inari blushed. "Um... well, see, I was thinking of asking Hanabi-chan out on a date..."

"Hanabi isn't here," Naruto pointed out.

"And she's not permitted to date you. She's Hyuuga clan," Sakura added sympathetically.

"Feh," Naruto snorted. "So what? Clan affiliation means nothing, here in Blossom. Or it _won't_ mean nothing, if I have anything to say about it!"

Sakura hesitated. "Naruto, I'm not sure that would work. Especially not with Hanabi..."

"I know about her clan and everything," Inari pointed out. "But it isn't that she can't date outside the clan -- just that she can't marry outside of it. Nothing says I couldn't take her out to a nice restaurant or something like that. I... well, she's cute, and I--"

"Never mind," Sakura sighed, tossing up her hands. "You can try, I suppose, but I doubt it'll do any good. Especially since she isn't here."

"I knew that," Inari nodded. "But... well, if I do get to take her on a date, I'm going to need some money to pay for it. I, um, don't really have enough for that, so... well, I got this part time job. With the dispatch office. I'm here to deliver the mail, and I was told I have to pick it up from you?"

Naruto flushed. "Oh, um... I need to go through it before you send it out -- I've got to censor some things because they're secret. But I forgot to stop by the dispatch office to pick it up, myself -- I've only been doing this a couple days, now, and the routine hasn't sunk in. You could go get it for me, though..."

Inari grinned. "Sure thing, Naruto!" With that, he dashed out of the office.

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she looked at Naruto. "You didn't tell me you were censoring letters from home. What's going on?"

Naruto hesitated. "I can't tell you. It isn't that I don't trust you to know things, and it has nothing to do with you, really, but... well, I can't talk with you about it. Too much chance of it being overheard... especially with the door open.

Sakura frowned. "Then write it down -- not the whole thing, just the gist of it -- and I'll destroy the paper you write it on once I'm done reading. Okay?"

Naruto hesitated, then sighed. He stood up and closed the drapes behind him. "Close the door," he said over his shoulder.

She didn't like all the secrecy, but she was a ninja. She knew just how bad things could be if the wrong information reached the wrong ears... or eyes, in this case. Saying nothing more, she walked over to the door and closed it tight, making sure to bolt the lock. That done, she walked over to his desk, where he had returned once he was done with the windows, and waited while he pulled out paper and a pen. It didn't take him very long to write, but he still seemed reluctant to hand it over. Finally, he shrugged and let her have the paper.

It took her only a second to read it. It took her another ten to get enough control to reread it, hoping to find that she was wrong the first time. Finally, she paled, rushed over to her desk, and pulled out some matches. Moving at speeds she rarely managed, from the time she was handed the paper to the time she had read it and destroyed it took her all of twenty seconds -- seven of which were waiting for it to burn.

"Hanabi and the Inuzuka _cannot_ know about this," she finally stated. "It would... it would..."

"I know," Naruto agreed, sighing. "I'm hoping it will all blow over before the word gets out, as it certainly will, but I can't count on that. The best I can do is try and hold on until Kakashi-sensei gets here -- he might have an idea."

"I hope so, Naruto-kun," Sakura sighed, staring at the ashes desperately. "I really hope so."

* * *

"Well," Hana said wryly as they left the boarding house where they'd left the brothel's people. The mission had been a success, she supposed, but it wasn't exactly the sort of escort mission she was used to. "That was... interesting."

Futaba giggled. "I thing Daichi-chan would have enjoyed coming along... too bad he wasn't allowed."

Moegi blushed. "I think I learned a lot... um, from the three of you," she added hastily. "You three are really good at this! My own style seems so... sub-par."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Hanabi answered her. "After all, you are not a Hyuuga -- you do not possess our superior genes, so it is no surprise you cannot keep up."

Moegi stiffened. "Hey, we Akamichi aren't half-bad! You Hyuuga's are overblown, anyway -- you're only the 'best' because you're the most organized, nowadays. Naruto-sama could beat any one of you, and Konohamaru-kun is almost as good as he is!"

Futaba blinked. "Um, no offense, Moegi-chan, but I have serious doubts that Konohamaru is anywhere close to as good as Naruto -- not saying that he couldn't beat Hanabi-chan, since I don't know anything about how he fights, but I've actually fought against Naruto-kun... and I know that no-one short of a hokage could lay a finger on him. Maybe in a few years, Konohamaru could be -- he has the right ancestry and all, being the Third's grandson -- but..."

Moegi started to look upset. "Konohamaru-kun has been Naruto-sama's student, in the past! Okay, so Naruto-kun was only a genin at the time, and it wasn't for very long, but he learned in that time! And Ebisu-sensei has been his personal tutor since he was born, and we all know how good Ebisu-sensei is as an instructor, don't we?"

"Ebisu," Hanabi stated darkly. "Cannot come close to even the weakest of the Hyuuga. Naruto...sama wouldn't be good enough to fight out of a paper bag if he didn't have so much chakra, despite what you may think. If you think Konohamaru is so strong because of them, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit!" Futaba exploded. "Naruto-sama is the greatest fighter I've ever seen! Do you even know how--"

"Ebisu-sensei is an elite teacher! He might not be one of your over-rated Hyuuga's, but he's still--"

"Children," Hana sighed. "Can we please stop fighting?"

"No!" All three of them chorused.

Suddenly, a mad blur sped in and collided with the trio of bickering girls. They all fell like bowling pins, collapsing in a heap. "Ow," said the new arrival.

"Inari-san?" Hanabi muttered, the first of the bunch to make it to her feet. Hana was checking an unconscious Futaba out, while Moegi just sat on the ground, dazed.

"Oh, Hanabi-chan," Inari said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Um, hi!"

"Why were you running so fast, Inari-san? Is there a problem?" Hanabi asked. It would be her duty as a Hyuuga to help if there was a danger, and even to defend him if necessary. While the Hyuuga were strict, and refused to let anyone else be thier betters, they would always fight to protect those who were weaker then them... as long as those weaker ones weren't trying to challenge their ascendancy.

"Er, no," he replied, blushing. "I'm just... I got a new job delivering mail, and I'm already late because it wasn't ready -- I need to take this stuff to Naruto's office pronto -- and so I was rushing. I'm, um, sorry I hit you guys."

Futaba sat up slowly. "Woof?" she said, dazedly.

"Arf, arf," Gonta replied, walking over to her. All the dogs had been congregating around Kuromaru during the argument, but now they were around thier fallen human sister.

"Ah, I see," she finally said, standing up.

"I guess it's okay," Hana said, seeing that her family member wasn't injured. "Well, since we're here, why don't you give us our mail? Then you can head on off to Naruto's office -- we'll help you."

"Um, I'm supposed to let Naruto see it first," Inari explained.

Hanabi, who had in fact spent some time learning from the prostitutes they had travelled with -- specifically in the art of influencing men, since as a Hyuuga she would _never_ have to endure the horrors of courtesan training. She smiled a flirtatious smile on her face, leaning into the boy with her hands wrapped together in front of her coyly. "Inari-kun," she began. "I haven't had any mail for over two weeks, and I've been anxious for letters from home. Are you sure you won't let us have our mail, now?"

Inari hesitated. There was Hanabi, looking all cute -- maybe she was attracted to him after all! He might stand a shot at getting a date with her, if he played his cards right... but then again, how could he pay for that date if he got fired for violating the rules he'd been given his first day on the job? But if he didn't give her the mail, maybe he'd lose his only chance at going on a date with her! His thoughts bounced back and force for what felt like hours, but was really only seconds. _Oh, what the hell,_ he finally thought. _What could be so wrong in letting a few girls get their letters from home a little earlier. I can even give Hanabi a little guilt trip and make it a little harder for her to say 'no' when I ask her out._

"Oh, I guess so. But I could get fired for this!" he pointed out, openning his bag to find the letters for them. "Let's see... two for Hana-sensei, one for Futaba-sempai, and three four Hanabi-chan. Wow, you're popular, Hanabi-chan!"

Moegi sighed. "I never get letters from home!"

"Well, I'm already late, so I'd better get going," Inari explained. "See you all later!"

"Bye, Inari-kun," Hanabi serenaded, giving him a flirtatious wink. When he was finally out of sight, she dropped the act. "Bleh! What an annoyance. I hate boys like that... well, time to see what father has to say," she said. The other two letters seemed to be from her older sister and her mother. Well, her older sister's could wait -- she was useless as a Hyuuga, after all, as both of her parents had explained repeatedly -- but her mother's was very important. Possibly as important as her father's. She opened that letter, just as both Inuzuka's opened theirs, and started reading.

"Hanabi," it began -- not in the ballpoint pen or printed type of most dispatches, but in the highly precise brush-and-ink calligraphy of a formal clan edict. Hanabi knew that such hadn't been issued since the death of the Kyuubi and the razing of the Uzumaki archives, so she was astonished to see it directed to her.

"Your sister, Hinata, has betrayed us. Listen to nothing she says, and never speak her name again. From now on, she is merely The Traitor. War is upon the Hyuuga clan -- civil war -- and she must be killed to prevent the disease she is from spreading. Already, she has the aid of many in the inferior branch family, so they must be destroyed as well.

"Also, the Inuzuka clan has allied themselves with her, and must be destroyed as well. You are directed, by clan decree, to return home -- we will need the help of you and all true Hyuuga to defeat them as well as The Traitor and her faction.

"Also, your father has been corrupted, as well -- though not to the extent of The Traitor. Disregard his mailings, for while he does not side with the traitor, he refuses to take sides against her as well. We will deal with him after The Traitor is dead. Perhaps he can be saved.

"From: Lady Hyuuga, the True Head of the Hyuuga Clan."

Hanabi paled. She looked up quickly to see how her teammates were reacting. Futaba looked increasingly angry -- her letter appeared longer, and she was still reading, but she seemed rather upset. Hana... looked at her like she was waiting for some kind of decision. But what kind of decision could she make? If Hanabi's mother was, indeed, the true head of the Hyuuga clan (and, under their bylaws, she was... although her father's could be just as great under certain circumstances), then she was bound by her orders. But... but her mother's orders were strangely lacking in context. Why had her sister betrayed them? What had she done? And why were the Inuzuka on The Traitor's side, anyway?

Sighing, and knowing that her mother would punish her if she ever found out, Hanabi decided to read her father's letter, as well. Her sister's... well, there was no chance she'd read that. No Traitor deserved such a privilege, regardless of the reason for her crimes.

"Hanabi," it began -- also in the calligraphy of a formal clan edict.

"Undoubtedly, you are also recieving missives from your mother and sister alongside this letter. I do not know what they contain, but I suspect they request that you return to Konoha to deal with the situation here. Please, do nothing of the sort -- whatever side of the conflict you fall on, I believe it is better for you and better for the Hyuuga if you remain there, safe and sound, until matters here are resolved. If you come here, you may be caught up in open warfare among our clan. If you stay there, you will be able to remain relatively safe. You will also be available to restore our clan to life should the worst happen here -- should out clan fall. There is another Hyuuga in Blossom, I am told, even if he is not of our kind. He would be acceptable breeding material, however, if the need arose.

"I'm not sure if anyone will give you the whole picture of what's happening here. I will do my best to explain it, however, as I see it. Your sister, Hinata, has been resisting the clan's attempts to arrange her marriage with another Hyuuga. As her ninja skills are so poor -- at least by Hyuuga standards -- breeding her is the only effective contribution she can make to the clan. Her refusals of late had been getting more and more vehement. Recently, we found out why.

"Hyuuga Hinata announced her engagement to a boy -- a boy who was not a Hyuuga. He was an Inuzuka -- Inuzuka Kiba, one of her teammates. Personally, I hate no issues with that, save one: The Hyuuga bloodline should not be shared. It is dangerous to allow others to accept it, and so I was willing to agree to it, provided Hinata accepted a seal on her powers to prevent them from being bred into her children -- not even the full seal given the branch family, but simply a partial one. Your mother, on the other hand, demanded she give up this Kiba boy. When Hinata refused, she sent a party of Hyuuga warriors to assassinate him.

"That has started a civil war among our clan. Kiba survived -- largely due to the timely intervention of Hinata and your cousin, Neji, as well as others of the Inuzuka clan. Other Hyuuga tried to defeat Neji using his seal, but Hinata discovered a way to prevent them -- her own unsealed Hyuuga powers are apparently stronger then I believed, even if she cannot seem to tap into them usually. That sparked most of the Branch families to side with her. Her faction has made several demands: Release all seals on Branch family members (which is possible, but difficult -- I would need the help of your mother in order to succeed, and she will not perform such an action. She loves to follow the letter of our bylaws, which state that the only reason a Branch family member may be restored to the head family is the death of a whole generation of the Main family), which I am inclined to agree with after the experiences I have had with my twin brother and his son. Allow Hinata to marry whom she chooses, which I also agree with even if I would demand certain conditions. And, finally, the one point which keeps me from supporting her, release all Hyuuga clan records to the hokage's archives. Given the skeletons that would dig up out of our past, I cannot agree with it.

"I tried negotiating with both sides. Both your mother and Hinata are being rather unreasonable about it -- your sister refuses to even accept the seal condition, while your mother says that no deals are possible and that everyone who goes against her must be killed -- possibly including me. She has become too obsessed with the traditions of our clan, no longer able to see how archaic some of our traditions have become. She does not understand that we have made mistakes -- sometimes horrible mistakes -- and I fear she has filled your head with only the good side of our clan. I still believe that the Hyuuga are the greatest clan in Konoha, if not in the world, but I am more than willing to admit that we have made mistakes along the way, and that some individuals may surpass us.

"Do not come to fight. If the situation there ever requires you to take sides, I can only say you should obey your own instincts and travel your own path -- don't let my words or anyone else's sway you from doing what you know is right. Let me remind you of something, however: If Hinata had not held this rebellion, your mother would have sealed your own powers the moment your sister became pregnant, and you would become the newest branch family. If you still with to follow your mother blindly, even after knowing of these plans, then so be it. You make your choice. But, whatever you do, stay away from this fight."

"Hiashi. Father, Patriarch, and a parent who cares for you very much.

Hanabi couldn't believe her eyes. She didn't know what to think of it, what side to take, who to believe -- her mother, who she had always trusted, or her father, who she also had always trusted? Or possibly even Hinata, whose grievance against her own clan seemed justified -- even if her demands did not. She was confused, uncertain, and... and she only knew of one way to deal with this. She would have to return to Konoha, and talk with everyone involved. Maybe her mother could explain things, after all, so--

"Hyuuga-san," Futaba growled -- a harsh growl, revealing once more the dog-like tendencies of her clan. Hanabi had never heard the girl speak so coldly, even to her... and had never heard her address anyone so formally. "I want you to understand something. If Kiba or any of my family are killed in this war of yours... I will destroy everyone involved. So you'd better choose which side you're on wisely... unless you want to be fed to Gonta in little bite-sized pieces. Got it?"

Normally, Hanabi would bluster on about how Futaba couldn't lay a finger on her. Normally, she would explain just how superior the Hyuuga clan was, and why that meant that no Inuzuka could ever defeat her. Now, however... she looked up at the older of the two Inuzuka present, and saw a curious look from Hana. The jounin was examining her intently, as if trying to discern just which choice she would make. Now... she wasn't sure saying such a thing would be a good idea.

"Futaba-san," she finally said. "I still don't know all of what is going on, so I can not decide on 'sides' or anything of the sort." She paused, looking towards the Gates leading out of Blossom, and sighed. "I intend, however, to find out."

* * *

Notes: I just want to emphasize one thing about this story at the moment: Hanabi is actually the youngest named character in Blossom, at the moment (the only named person outside of Blossom that I can think of who's younger is the daimyo's son, in fact). She's actually a little younger even then most of the students in Blossom's academy (she's ten, they're 11-12). So, despite the fact that she's been a right bitch so far, she's still at an age where her emotions and attitudes can still be significantly influenced by those around her. A small background note I haven't figured out how to add to the story (I intended to bring it up either in this chapter (I couldn't get it there without it getting too awkward) or the side story which I'm not sure I'll write, now. I'll try and find a spot for it in the future, but I'll mention it now in case I can't: Hiashi is actually the one who recommended that she -- and her team -- leave Konoha for Blossom. It is actually his intention to get her away from the clan -- especially her mother (or clan matriach, if I determine that, indeed, Hanabi's mother is deceased in canon), who he has started to worry about (as you can see from the above), and put her under the influence of someone who he felt could be a good influence for her.

Anyone who is interested may speculate on the final pairings for the genin and Academy students if they like -- I've already got them all in mind for the next gen sequel to this fic, oddly enough, despite not figuring out all of the pairings from the list of more important and older characters (like Shikamaru, Ino, Temari, Neji, Tenten, Shino (probably a new char, if anyone), Ayame at the Ichiraku, Gai (er... right), Ibiki, Kakashi, and Lee (assuming I let him live to see the sequel), and maybe a couple others I'm forgetting about. Naruto, Sakura, Yuugao, Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata, Kurenei, and Asuma are all already spoken for in the fic. Hana is a confirmed bachelorette (and playgirl, of sorts -- I suppose saying I find Hana the most attractive girl in Naruto would be saying too much?) in this fic, but may have kids next one, so suggestions for her are acceptable, as well). I bring this up because I brought out Inari's crush in this chapter (and Moegi's unspoken one, as well, I suppose). Suggestions for pairings among the undecideds (save Shikamaru: Temari or Ino arguments. I have my own biases in that regard, but the story may dictate otherwise) would be welcome, provided you add an explanation besides "I think they look cool together!" (In other words, "I think Neji and Tenten should get together because they work so well together in training," would be acceptable. "I think Neji and Tenten should get together because they're such a cute couple!" is not.)

Next chapter: Well, I suppose Naruto didn't quite get to 'stopping' Hanabi, yet, has he? Well, he will next chapter. Sorry, the break just didn't materialize where I thought it would.


	33. V3 Chapter 23

Volume 3

Notes: My first case of plagiarism! Someone going by the handle 'KingKilala' on decided to repost chapter 1 as his own, keeping not just the title but also my original author's notes... including "by David A. Tatum," who I'm pretty sure this person is not. I waited for a bit because I wanted to see if anyone would leave him a review ridiculing him for his poor attempt at plagiarism, but then I reported it when someone else mentioned they'd done so as well. I've never used the reporting system (since I usually feel it's administered pretty unfairly) but I'm pleased to see cases of plagiarism are dealt with properly, at least... or at least this person realized that he'd stirred up a bit of a hornets nest as people started to realize what he was plagiarizing (thank you all who noticed). I suggest you search for his name (since you cannot write a link anywhere, even internally, on so I can't post it for you) and see if he's taken your work as well. Also, check out the authors in his 'favorite authors' profiles -- I suspect they're aliases of his, at least in part, since I noticed comments on several fics by those authors which had comments calling them out on plagiarism. Remember to report those, because obviously the comments aren't doing it.

In one comment, someone made the assumption that the Hyuuga (and others in Konoha) were aware that Jiraiya was Naruto's master. I don't think they do... in fact, I doubt most people in Konoha know anything about his abilities, save for what they saw in the chuunin exam -- events which they aren't necessarily going to remember all that clearly, considering what ELSE happened that day. No-one in canon has ever seen him with Jiraiya (outside of Ebisu and Kakashi, who are both in Blossom, and Gai, Tsunade, and Shizune, who have had no opportunity to spill that bit of information). No-one in canon is aware that he can summon Gamabunta, save Gaara, Sasuke, Temari, and Jiraiya. Very few people have seen him perform the rasengan. No-one is aware that he won the battle with Gaara, not Sasuke. No-one is aware of what really happened in Wave, save the people who were there... and so on. Basically, outside of certain major characters, the battle with Neji is the ONLY chance he's ever had to impress most of Konoha.

About the legend of Toad-master, Snake-master, Snail-master: I don't really know much about it, myself -- I've already posted just about everything I know, which came from a footnoted copy of a translated interview with Kishimoto answering the question of what legendary characters he had incorporated into Naruto. (He only mentioned Jiraiya, but Tsunade and Orochimaru are also both mentioned in the same legend, from what I've read). Not sure there's really anything more I can say about it.

Well, I guess that's all for now. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 23

Naruto continued to flip through the letters he had been handed by Inari, who was waiting with less and less patience for the mail he was supposed to deliver. Tsunade's dispatch had said there were five personal letters inside this packet which he would have to be especially careful to censor -- possibly to destroy -- but he couldn't find any of them. Perhaps there was a last minute change of plan, and so Tsunade had not included those five? But no, there would have been an addendum somewhere in the messages, and there was none.

"Inari," Naruto said, repeating his thumb-through of the letters. Sakura had already started censoring a couple, now that she knew what had to be removed. It would make things go a whole lot faster, having her help, but the speed she was adding was being taken away, as well, by the search for the missing letters. Perhaps the boy who had picked up the mail knew something. "Are you sure that this is all the mail?"

Inari fidgetted. "Um... why?"

"The old lady's letter says that there are certain dispatches I should be expecting, and all of them are missing."

The boy relaxed. "Oh. Well, there certainly wasn't anything official that I failed to bring you. I did give out some personal mail, though, when I, um, ran into Hanabi-chan's team."

Both Sakura and Naruto froze. "How many letters?"

Inari hesitated, suddenly realizing that those might actually be the letters he was talking about. "Um... five?"

"Crap!" Naruto exclaimed. "Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! When did they get into town, anyway? They weren't due back from their mission until tomorrow!"

"I guess they got here early," Sakura sighed. "And now we're in a hell of a lot of trouble."

Inari hesitated. "Um, does this have something to do with Hanabi-chan?"

Naruto sighed. "We've been trying to keep a certain bit of news from home away from the people most involved. You are aware of the clan system back in Konoha, right?"

"Well, I did say that I understood Hanabi-chan's problems with dating outside of her clan," he pointed out, "Although I might not know everything about it."

"Right," Sakura sighed, taking over the explanation. "Look, Inari -- Konoha has a number of great clans, each of which train their children in special family techniques, or at the very least have a common heritage which influences how they behave, how much effort they put into training, etc. The Hyuuga clan is reputed to be the strongest of these clans, but they also have many strict rules and laws governing the behavior of its members... including laws regarding who you can marry, and things like that. Apparently, Hanabi's sister broke one of those rules, and her clan -- lead by their parents -- decided to kill her as punishment. She resisted, obviously, and now that clan is in a civil war."

"To make matters worse," Naruto continued, filling in for things that Sakura had yet to learn. "The Inuzuka clan is involved -- Hinata-chan decided she'd marry Kiba, and they tried to get rid of _him,_ too."

"Oh, god," Inari replied, horrified. "But... Hanabi-chan was sitting with the two Inuzuka girls when I gave her the mail... and I gave them some letters, too. Oh, god!"

Naruto sighed. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us, eh, Sakura-chan?"

"I'd say so," Sakura agreed, standing up from her desk. "It looks as if trying to keep this information out of Blossom's eyes is no longer an option. So, do you want to take Hanabi, or the Inuzuka?"

"Well, I like the two puppy girls," Naruto sighed. "I don't want to have to do anything to them. Why don't you handle those girls, and I'll take care of Hanabi?"

"I think I'm going to need a bit of help for that," Sakura said. "But I think that'll work -- I'll get Anko-chan and we'll easily be able to deal with Hana and Futaba. Ready?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Let's go."

Inari watched the two leave, completely ignoring him, and wondered if there was anything he could do to help.

* * *

Despite what her father had said, Hanabi knew that she had to return to Konoha. She just wasn't getting a big enough picture staying in Blossom to really know what was going on. Her mother had recalled her, after all, and her mother outranked her father -- well, she claimed she did. Hanabi wondered just how true that was, since the few documents she'd seen on the clan's laws didn't say anything about that. According to her father, she would have been made into a Branch family line if her mother had her way... which made her wonder just how reliable either of her parents were, since they both had always said she would be the true heir, as Hinata was a failure. It was her mother's words about how overpowering the Hyuuga clan was that kept her from bothering to learn the henge or the kawarimi techniques... which she sometimes regretted not knowing.

Hanabi hesitated, glancing at the still unopened letter from her sister. If she truly were interested in seeing 'all the sides of the story,' as she claimed she was, she would continue to break the rules imposed by her mother and read Hinata's letter as well. But... for some reason, she was holding back. She couldn't bring herself to break her mother's rules to that extent... but she couldn't destroy the letter, either. She didn't know -- too much was on her mind, and too many things were happening, and she had to move quickly before things got out of hand -- but she couldn't betray her sister like that, either.

Sighing, she finished packing her travel pack. It was past nightfall, and she well knew all the ways to leave Blossom secretly. This might get her declared a missing nin... but unless she committed some additional crime other then going AWOL, she could always return and be forgiven... there would be some punishment, yes, but she wouldn't be imprisoned or killed for leaving. She could deal with any punishment that remained, as long as she had something this important to do.

She stepped out of her house and looked around. She'd hated this place, where her clan meant nothing and she only had this tiny apartment to call her own -- not that she even really owned it -- but now she was reluctant to go. However, she had to leave. Her clan needed her too much to stay.

With a sigh, she left, making as much effort as possible to remain undetected as she could. As she slipped outside of the border, she grinned ruefully. There was no turning back, now...

* * *

Hana shrugged. "Hey, I don't really think Hanabi's likely to do anything wrong, whatever is going on in Konoha," she said. Sakura had found her and Futaba together, eating in a restaurant, and explained everything -- Anko standing by her waiting to do something in case the Inuzuka clan members overreacted to something. So far, however, they both seemed calm enough... although the younger of the pair appeared quite anxious.

"I threatened her," Futaba admitted. "I don't want her to be siding with the members of her clan who've declared war on my family! But I'm also worried for her. We are teammates, and while she doesn't always seem like it Hanabi-chan is a very nice girl. A bit stuck up, but she really does her best to help other people as much as she can. If her clan is tearing itself apart... well, she's very connected to her clan. I'm worried she'll tear herself apart, as well."

"If the Hyuuga collapse, they'll deserve it," Anko spat.

Sakura blinked. "Anko-chan?"

"It's just rumor -- or rather, I can't prove it," Anko sighed. "The Uzumaki clan records were stolen by the Hyuuga, at one point, because the Uzumaki clan -- one of the original twelve, mind -- beat them in an inter-clan war. That's only one of several incidents I've heard tales of, where they have abused thier power to maintain their status. I'm aware of the genetic disposition to insanity you noted for the Uchiha, which you learned of from your own clan scrolls... I've always felt as if the Uchiha got it not from the combining of two great lines of power, but rather from the Hyuuga exclusively."

"It... could actually be both," Sakura hesitated, looking around. "A genetic flaw causing the Hyuuga to strive for power and dominance over others, amplified by the connection to another greater bloodline... it could cause serious problems."

"I would think it would weaken the defect, not strengthen it," Hana mused. "When a wolf and a dog breed together, the result is usually a beast tamer then a wolf."

"Yes -- an apparently calmer animal," Sakura agreed. "But, correct me if I'm wrong, many wolf-dog hybrids have somewhat... erratic behavior. They'll seem perfectly domesticated, but then... they snap, their eyes go red and the fur stands up on their backs, and they become aggressive when confronted with anything that might stress them." She paused. "The life of a ninja is very stressful. If the Uchiha were actually bred from a relatively calm family -- the 'dog' in the pairing -- and a family with a genetic disposition that makes them power hungry -- the Hyuuga, representing the 'wolves' in this scenario -- then perhaps their incidents of insanity are really just the... the 'wolf' in them breaking through when the stress gets too much."

"Possible," Hana replied slowly. "Kuromaru has some wolf in him, and he's snapped like that from time to time. But he regains his sanity -- according to your notes, the Uchiha do not."

"They do," Sakura pointed out. "With the right trigger."

"Animal instinct," Anko pointed out. "The need to breed is sometimes stronger then even the need to survive. Sasuke-kun, unless I am mistaken, has longed to 'rebuild the Uchiha,' has he not? Which -- forgive me for putting this so crudely -- requires that he breed. Perhaps the stress caused by the need to breed could have broken the stress that was--"

"Look," Hana sighed. "It's a decent theory, all right? But it's still just a theory. We don't need to worry about the Uchiha, right now -- we've got the Hyuuga to worry about! If they do have some sort of genetic defect which causes them to become so power-mad..."

"I could do some tests," Sakura pointed out. "If I had a test subject."

"How about two?" Futaba asked slowly. "Hanabi-chan... and that student of yours, Adaha-san. One from before they 'enhanced' their powers, one from after... perhaps it has something to do with the oni they took into their blood."

"If so... it could be sealed out," Sakura mused. "It shouldn't weaken them as a clan, at all, merely... correct a defect in them. If I can examine Hanabi-chan, I can maybe save their clan!"

"Yeah," Naruto said suddenly, appearing amidst them. "But you actually need to see Hanabi-chan in order to do that. Which might be a problem."

"Eh?" the four girls chorused.

"Hanabi has run off. But I don't intend to let her get to Konoha -- get everyone. We will retrieve Hanabi-chan and bring her back here... whether she wants us to or not."

* * *

Hanabi froze, hearing a twig snap behind her. Someone had managed to follow her... but, given the sounds she now noticed he was making, it wasn't a very skilled someone. She must have really been out of it not to notice earlier.

"Byakuugan," she whispered softly, hoping to identify her pursuer. There was a chance, if it were one of the other genin, that she could avoid them completely, as long as it wasn't Futaba and her dog. She doubted it was someone stronger then a genin, given how poorly they were hiding their presence, but she didn't exactly respect that certain higher ranking ninja (such as Naruto) would necessarily have mastered the stealth normally required of a chuunin or better. She searched all around, extending her special vision to its maximum to see everything that was around her. She had a _slightly_ larger blind spot the Neji did, but she wouldn't miss anything the size of a human... and very few things the size of a dog.

Whoever it was hadn't realized that she was 'looking' at them, and continued to move in her direction. They were at the extreme of her range, so her focus was... limited, but she could tell it was probably a genin... although she wasn't sure which one. She didn't recognize the profile, so... wait, was that who she thought it was?

"Inari-san?" she called, deciding there wasn't really any point in hiding her presence -- especially if her follower was only an Academy student. "Is that you?"

The boy poked his head out of some bushes. He had twigs and leaves strapped all around him -- pretty good camoflauge, actually, if a bit basic. Obviously, once he learned to mask his movements better, he'd be pretty good at stealth activities. Perhaps the Blossom Academy students wouldn't all be utterly useless, after all, even if none of them had any clan-based advantages like special techniques or, say, bloodline abilities... well, not counting Adaha. "Um, hi, Hanabi-chan," he said, blushing in embarrassment. "I guess you saw me?"

"Heard you, actually," she explained. "You move too loudly."

"Ah," Inari replied, blushing even more.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, a bit put out. She had made the perfect escape from Blossom, but... but she couldn't leave an Academy student alone, way out here, when he hadn't even mastered the basics of ninjitsu yet. He'd never survive the trip home... she'd have to take him somewhere safe, after all. The closest safe place was Blossom, however, so... just what could she do?

"I, um, heard about your family problems," he answered hesitantly. "I wanted to help."

Hanabi stared at him in disbelief. "You. You want to _help?_ You think there's anything a snot nosed little brat who doesn't know the first thing about _real_ ninjitsu can help solve all of the problems of the Hyuuga? By yourself? Are you out of your _mind?_"

"No!" Inari exclaimed, his temper getting the better of him as her insults rained down. He was attracted to the girl -- she was cute, and the 'take no prisoners' attitude which she often displayed when she was tutoring most of the students in the Academy (for Adaha wasn't the only one she worked with -- he was just the one she worked with the most. She'd worked, at least briefly, with every single student in the Academy, including Inari, in sparring lessons) appealed to him -- but he wouldn't put up with being bullied by her. That was one thing Naruto's visit during Konoha's first mission to Wave had taught him. "I am _not_ out of my mind. Nor am I trying to say I can 'solve all of the problems of the Hyuuga' by myself. But maybe... maybe I can help _you._"

Hanabi sighed. If she were of lesser blood, she might even lower herself to slap her forehead in disbelief -- something she'd seen a number of lesser men and women do. However, she was a Hyuuga -- whatever that meant, now -- and she would act like one. "Listen. To. Me. Go home. There is nothing a boy -- without an ounce of an advanced bloodline in him of any sort -- can help me with. What I need... is someone strong. Someone powerful enough to defeat armies single-handedly. You... you would just get in the way."

Inari was crushed, looking down at his feet as if they were the most important things in the whole world. "Then... then what are you going to do?"

The girl froze. "Eh?"

"You're just a girl," he pointed out. "A girl my age. A girl who may have an advanced bloodline, but could hardly have mastered it as well as most of those older then her. A girl who I doubt could defeat armies single-handedly. What are you going to do?"

That... almost sounded like an insult. "What... who... what do you know!" she snapped. "I'm the greatest Hyuuga of my age! Possibly the greatest ever of my age--"

"Then who is this 'Neji' guy Naruto talks about sometimes?" Inari shot back. "You know... I liked you. You're cute and all... but you're just an irritating little bitch, aren't you? I thought you were cool, but you won't accept any help -- and I wasn't even talking about the fighting kind of help, you know -- and you talk about how strong you are as if that matters. Hanabi-chan, think about it: You're ten years old. Outside of the children your age or younger, who probably shouldn't be fighting themselves, you'll be the weakest person there!"

"Take that back!" Hanabi snarled, losing her composure. For some reason, this kid had her rattled and she didn't know why. She wouldn't be insulted this way, that was for sure. "Unless you want me to _make_ you take it back."

Inari swallowed nervously. He knew from Naruto's stories that the Hyuuga clan's legendary status was well founded. The techniques he had to face when fighting that Neji person were brutal, and there was nothing he knew which could counter them... but he'd learned a while back that unless you stood up to the bullies, the bullies would demand more and more from you until you had nothing left to give. It had cost him his father -- and his land their pride -- before they realized that, but everyone in Wave knew not to back down, any more. And so he couldn't.

Licking his lips, which had suddenly dried, he slowly drew out his response. "No."

Hanabi narrowed her eyes. "Byakuugan!" she snapped, using her enhanced vision to guide her fist. Moments before her fist struck, she knew something was wrong. With a crack, the log which substituted for him shattered into splintered. A kawarimi? and he got it off that fast? But... how in the world could he do that? He's just an Academy student?

Her senses warned her of an attack from behind -- although she couldn't tell what kind, since most of it was in her blind spot -- and so she leapt away. The wooden training kunai landed in the pine-needle covered paths with a slight bounce, apparently completely harmless. She spun around to face her attacker... only to be knocked aside and sprawled out onto the ground by the force of the explosive tag which had been attached to the projectile. Before she could react, Inari was there, on top of her, trying to pin her arms to the ground. He had one, but the other was free... and so she began her next move.

With deadly precise accuracy, she started shutting down his chakra system. She wouldn't kill the boy -- she didn't want to kill anybody -- but she had to stop him. Her best non-lethal offensive moves involved controlling her opponents chakra, and shutting it down was a whole lot safer -- for both of them -- then trying to make it overproduce and burn itself out. After just a few strikes, he'd managed to grab her other arm and pin it as well, but the damage had been done. The chakra in his right arm was fading, and while he did still have a few open points in his arm which could accept new chakra it wasn't enough -- his arm was weakened, and it was only a matter of time before she had her own free.

It was only then she started hearing what he was shouting at her.

"Settle down, dammit! Settle down! I don't want to fight you, I just wanted to prove my goddamned point. If a simple, undereducated, barely trained brat of an Academy student can do this to you, think about what the _rest _of your family could manage!"

Hanabi stopped struggling for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. "You just caught me by surprise -- I didn't think you even had explosive tags," she explained. "I'm going to break free and take you down in just a second."

Inari raised an eyebrow at her. "Hanabi-chan... what makes you think you know everything your family can do? What makes you think that they don't keep stuff in secret, themselves, to have something in reserve when their children get 'uppity?' Do you think they can't surprise you? You claim the Hyuuga are the greatest clan ever -- what makes you think they aren't so great they can beat you, too?"

With that bit of logic, something finally broke through to her. "I... well, I never actually thought that anyone was weaker then I was. Well, except Hinata-neechan, or any of the Branch family... or, well, the Inuzuka, or basically a whole side of this civil war. Which I'm probably mistaken about, since niether of the other sides seem capable of beating her faction, so... I don't know. But I'm not going there to fight, anyway."

"No?" Inari asked. "Then just why _are_ you going? And why wouldn't I be able to help, since it's not my fighting talent which would be needed, anyway?"

Hanabi winced. "Inari-san... I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to come along. My mother... my mother would kill you. Literally."

Inari blinked. "Why?"

"Because you aren't Hyuuga," she explained. Not wanting to explain further, she continued, "And... and I need to go not so that I can fight, but so that I can... um, figure out just what is going on. Because, see, I can't do that -- not from my parent's letters."

Inari considered that, then checked through his pockets. To her surprise, he pulled out his wallet and started counting the money inside. It took him a few moments before he nodded. "How much does hiring a team on ninja for a mission cost, anyway?"

Hanabi blinked. "Um... it varies. A D class mission can sometimes cost as little as a hundred ryou a day. A C class or better runs in the thousands, if not the millions, per day. Why?"

"Hm... it'd probably be C class, wouldn't it?" he mused, counting his money again without answering her question. "Well... if I can negotiate it down to the low end, maybe I could afford it. I'm a Wave country citizen, after all, so I'd be getting a small discount anyway..."

"Excuse me?" Hyuuga tried to interrupt, confused.

"Gramps could loan me some money, too, I think," he considered. "And if I could talk my way out of being fired at the dispatch office, I could use that income to live on instead of my savings..."

"What are you talking about?"

He grinned at her. "I'm going to hire Blossom to scout out the Hyuuga clan situation for you, and give you an accurate report."

Hanabi's eyes widened, but then she shook her head. "I can't let you do that, Inari-san."

"Why not?" he protested.

"Because with the Hyuuga clan involved, it'd be a B-rank for sure, and we're not allowed to perform B-rank missions in Blossom," a voice replied, coming -- strangely enough -- from the tree they were lying down (still on top of each other) next to.

Hanabi was startled -- she hadn't sensed anyone else in the area, and she still had her byakuugan running. She glanced at the tree, and still didn't see anything unusual... until the chakra system started changing, molding itself into something much more... humanlike. Then the image changed to match it -- a blond-haired, blue-eyes image. "How--"

"I rarely use a true henge," Naruto explained, anticipating her question. "At least, not any more. I created a varient -- testing it with a technique I call the 'sexy no jutsu' -- which changes my entire physical structure when I use it. I remain conscious, even if I become something like a shuriken or a dead log, but my chakra system and biology both mold themselves along with my form." Explaining more for Inari's sake then Hanabi's, he continued, "A normal henge can give you such features as claws or sharp edges, and make you, say, into the aerodynamic structure of a kunai, but it's still detectable with the right kind of eyes. The byakuugan will allow you to see through a normal henge, as you can see the human chakra structure -- however compressed or distorted it becomes -- in the object or person who has transformed. My varient -- which I will not teach, since it leads to a certain kinjutsu I developed -- alters my chakra structure as well. I tested this by transforming to a girl... and undergoing a pelvic exam by a medical nin. It's embarrassing, but I had proof that even my DNA changes, which it doesn't for a normal henge. I'm not sure how my consciousness remains intact -- especially when I change into things which don't have any kind of brain at all--" Hanabi snorted. "But it does."

"So," Inari said, trying to bring things back on target. "I can't afford to hire you to check out the Hyuuga situation for Hanabi-chan, can I?"

Naruto shrugged. "No, but why bother? The old hag sent me a detailed report from an unbiased observer's view, after all, so she shouldn't _need_ to return to Konoha... should she?"

Hanabi's eyes widened, but Inari remained confused. "Old hag? What old hag?"

"The hokage," the girl breathed, unable to believe her ears. "Naruto-sama calls her that all the time."

The chuunin in question grinned cheekily. "Ah, she lets me get away with anything -- if I ever had a mother... well, a grandmother, I think she'd be just like her. And she is an old hag -- you should see her when she's not using those anti-aging jutsus of hers!"

Hanabi blinked. "Anti... aging? There is such a thing?"

"Apparently," Naruto laughed. "Although even Sakura-chan doesn't know what they are -- and she's Tsunade's apprentice! Anyway... Hanabi, two of your three clan factions and the hokage herself are ordering you to stay in Blossom -- and so am I. Don't worry, though -- from now on, you'll be getting the complete reports, just as I see them. Deal?"

Hanabi eyed him suspiciously. "I don't trust you. You're friends with Neji and Hinata too much -- you're too sympathetic to them."

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe -- they are friends, after all, so that'd probably bias anyone. It's your family, though, so you'd be biased anyway... unless you've already made up your mind?"

"No!" she snapped. "That's why I want to go back to Konoha! I need to know what's going on!"

"I know," Naruto pointed out. "I heard... well, almost everything you and Inari said to each other. I got here while you were telling Inari that he was out of his mind."

"Oh," Hanabi blushed. "Um... I was a little upset... I didn't really mean it."

"Of course not!" Naruto agreed enthusiastically. "Now, I might be biased towards Hinata and Neji, but I'm not actually on their side on this battle."

That brought the Hyuuga girl's attention up in a flash. "But... then you agree with my mother, that they and the Inuzuka boy should die?"

Naruto frowned. "No, I don't. I side with your father -- who actually makes a lot of sense. I know how valuable a treasure family scrolls can be... and I certainly would want to protect mine if I had any! Sakura-chan tells me that the hokage's archives can occasionally be altered, so I wouldn't want to risk losing such a precious thing."

Hanabi flushed, remembering her mother's words on their raping of the archives for just that -- Naruto's family scrolls. "Um... right. But what about the power sealing thing?"

"Well, yeah, I kinda agree with that, too," Naruto mused. "I've read a bit from Sakura's papers on the Uchiha about how their madness was caused by a mixing of the Hyuuga clan's blood traits with another clan's major bloodline traits. The Inuzuka are probably one of the stronger clans in Konoha -- I wouldn't want a new group of crazed super-powered ninja wandering about." His eyes darkened, and -- if Hanabi saw right -- turned red and fox-like very briefly. "I don't want anyone else to have to deal with friends who will ultimately be driven by their blood into betraying them."

Hanabi nodded slowly. "I... guess that you wouldn't, would you? Naruto...sama, may I see whatever you have from Tsunade already?"

"Sure," Naruto agreed, but then pointed to one of her pockets. "And I'll let you know, now -- there hasn't been anyone killed, yet. It's more of a cold war, at this point, thanks to the hokage's personal intervention -- she's arranged for all the clans but the Hyuuga and the Inuzuka to stay out of things, and she's managed to force the three sides to agree and not fight each other until after there's been some attempts at arbitration, first. But I want you to promise me to read all the letters you get from home, because if I'm going to have to do anything about this this, I'm going to want your insight. I like to know what's going on back in Konoha, and only you can tell me the ins and outs of what is going on with the Hyuuga clan. But that means I'll need you to be informed, as well..."

That was a hard decision for Hanabi to make. Essentially spy on her own clan -- the clan she had been raised as an infant to believe was the best creation the world had ever made -- or else never find out just what was going on in Konoha. She was fairly certain that he'd stop her if she tried to leave again, and -- as much as she didn't want to admit it -- he apparently was able to track her _and _sneak up on her without her knowing. She'd never make it back... and, unless she agreed, she'd never be able to know just what to do.

Deciding, in the end, that there was really only one option, she finally nodded. "Okay..."

* * *

That night, back in Konoha, Hanabi opened her last unopened letter and started reading.

"Sister,

"I want you to stay home. Please. I don't want you -- or anyone else -- getting killed over this. I'm sorry. I love you too much to ask you to risk yourself for this."

Hanabi read that again.

"I love you."

And a third time.

"I love you."

A tear dropped onto the page, followed by another. This was why she was never able to believe her mother's words. Why she couldn't accept that Hinata was a traitor who deserved nothing more than death. This was why it was wrong -- all wrong.

"I love you."

Hinata would never do this on purpose. She was too kind... too kind to really be a Hyuuga. Too kind to really be a ninja. Too kind to really know just what she'd been getting herself into. And too kind to sentence to death just for wanting to get married...

Hanabi hugged the letter to her chest. "I love you, too, Hinata-nee-chan," she whispered.

* * *

Notes: The information on wolf-dog hybrids comes from a dog my family used to own almost twenty years ago, when I was a five year old. A chocolate lab bread with -- it was claimed -- another type of dog. We later learned that it was actually a wolf who was the other parent (as there were families in the area -- Ithaca, New York (I haven't been there in just under twenty years, so I'm not sure if its still true) -- who bred wolves as pets), and the behavior of that dog reflected it much as I described. We had to put him down, sadly, because he went crazy. I was... very young at the time, however, and barely remember it now. I do remember my dog's eyes turning red when we had an 'intruder' (really a visitor we knew fairly well) -- that was scary, and that was also the first time we began to suspect the wolf in his ancestry.

My health problems are now... well, mostly recovered. It took me a day and a half to write this chapter, allowing for adequate rest times for my back and everything. I may be able to get back to around two chapters every three days or so -- I'll try, at least. If I start backsliding, it's because of other problems then my back, however -- I'm getting a bit busy in real life, too.

Next Chapter: Once again, someone unexpected arrives in town to hire the ninja of Blossom for a special mission. This time, it may be too big for Blossom to handle, however.


	34. V3 Chapter 24

Volume 3

Notes: The Hyuuga civil war is going to drag on for a while. As a point, it (and the events leading up to it, including the romance of Kiba and Hinata... such as it is. At this point in the side story, Hinata isn't even in love with Kiba. These spoilers for the side story are brought out only because I'm finding it increasingly unlikely that I'll get around to writing it, at least not anytime soon) IS the unwritten side story I've had roughly planned for some time, and have hinted at since I mentioned Ino and Sakura leaving their apartment to Hinata for caretaking, and which I may or may not ever get to. Snippets of news from it will show up in various chapters between now and the end of Volume 3, but don't expect much to develop on camera in this fic. It will return to a mainline story issue in Volume 4, however, so don't think I'm done with it by any stretch of the imagination... and it may influence certain events in upcoming chapters of Volume 3, as well, but not to the extent that some of you seem to be speculating. I say this because I don't want an infinite number of comments saying, "Hey, what about the Hyuuga civil war?" during this and the next several chapters, as that conflict is barely touched upon.

I'd be willing to release the side story plotline for someone else to write, by the way, if I trusted the person to do it right... but, um, that's the problem. There aren't many authors who I know well enough to trust that they'd do it right, and fewer still of those are into Naruto. If anyone wants a crack at it, which would be about the only way that you could guarantee that it would get written, send me a PRIVATE e-mail (get the address from my author's page if you don't know it already) and a link to anything else you've written -- I'll have to make a judgement call based upon how you right. You could be a great writer and I'd still turn you down, mind -- I'd be looking for a specific style in addition to reasonable quality.

A lot of people seem surprised with how fast Hanabi's transition has been. Well, think of it this way -- she's a ten year old child who has gone through her entire life being told, and believing, that her and her family are the most powerful force on earth. Suddenly, her family is shattered into open conflict -- her mother, who she has always listened to and believed in, is telling her one thing. Her father, who raised her, trained her, and who she trusts, is telling her another. Finally, there's her sister... who has always been a bit of a disappointment to her (because she was a disappointment to her entire family) but who she still respected (as demonstrated by her surprise that Neji is stronger then Hinata during the chuunin exam), who is apparently the source of the conflict. The Hyuuga clan has always come first for her, but suddenly the Hyuuga clan is facing the Hyuuga clan... and she's a ten year old trying to understand all that. It's gotten her questioning some things, and open for intervention by others (like, say, Inari or Naruto) who are suddenly making a lot of sense. She's not quite 'redeemed,' yet, but the source of her arrogance and the things which made her so aggressive when dealing with Naruto (and Neji, not that it matters) are no longer a stable ground for her to stand on, so she's going to be going through a bit of a reformation in her attitude. Some of it will be occuring 'off camera,' but not necessarily all of it.

I do not live in the Ithaca area any more -- I moved away about twenty years ago. As far as the 'breeding wolves' goes -- who says that people were doing it legally? And no, I'm not saying ALL half-wolf half-dog breeds go crazy, I'm just saying the tendency is there. (And 'eyes going red' isn't exactly literal -- I just don't know how to describe it any better then that) That said, I don't want to get into an argument with a veterinary assistant.

Okay, I get it, "Snake, Snail, Toad" is a varient of "rock, paper, scissors." So what? There IS a legend that it's based upon (or maybe based upon it), dealing with people named Orochimaru the Snake Master, Jiraiya the Toad Master, and Tsunade the Slug Master. Kishimoto himself mentioned this legend (and NOT the game -- he was specifically talking of the legend, in this case) when asked about what elements of Japanese myth and legend he was incorporating into his manga. I don't know much about this legend, but I DO know that there is this 'snake, snail, toad' game similar to rock, paper, scissors that came from it. I don't need to be told that 'Snake, Snail, Toad' comes from the game, again, because it does and it doesn't -- the game and the legend are intertwined, but it's the legend that's important in this case, as Jiraiya is the Jiraiya of that legend, Orochimaru is the Orochimaru of that legend, etc. (Which came first, the legend or the game, is another question; but it doesn't matter in this case. What does matter is that the game is unimportant to my point -- it was the legend that was important. The game was mentioned as connected to the legend, yes, but the legend was really what I don't know the specifics of -- which was what I was trying to answer, not the whole 'Oh, there's a game this legend is based on!' thing)

Have I made Naruto overpowered? Possibly. He IS supposed to be just about the strongest ninja in history, at this point, or at least close to it... that may make him seem a bit too strong, but remember how hard it's been for him to get this far... and remember he is still largely untested against other super-powered ninja. Naruto can sense, already, that Sasuke is too strong for him AND Sakura to try and take on unprepared (as shown earlier in this fic), and Orochimaru has probably gained considerably in power when you take into account he now has a sharingan eye just like Kakashi does, only this is a mangekyou sharingan eye. Also, remember Itachi is still out there -- the same Itachi who destroyed the entire elite Uchiha clan on his own -- and Naruto isn't sure he's any stronger then him. Naruto is definitely an 'elite' ninja, by this point, but he isn't alone in being the 'absurdly powerful' class of ninja, either. He has some competition, at any rate... (Whether he will by the point this fic is over is another matter -- remember, by the end of this fic, things should be resolved to the point that I can write a next generation sequel). As far as his intelligence goes (and his victory in the chess match), I -- personally -- feel that Naruto's tactical mind and intelligence are severely underrated both by the other characters in the series AND by many fans. I also think that Shikamaru's severely OVERrated by the same group. Naruto thinks ahead just as much as Shikamaru (for proof, watch the Kiba match, or even the battle with Zabuza, and pay attention to his strategic mind, and COUNT how far ahead he would have had to think in order to get himself into the position to do some of the things he does. Even in the fight with Neji, he outwits the 'strongest ever genin' TWICE... and people in Konoha still evaluate him as an idiot. Sigh.). People often criticize him for just 'jumping in' first thing, but I think he explains pretty well why: He needs to fight them to get a true assessment of his opponents fighting abilities, so he closes in and attacks (often with one or more shadow clones), and he continues planning while he fights, thinking on his feet. I think Shikamaru is overconfident in his ability to assess people tactically (he admits he underestimates Naruto at least twice), lacks the ability to think on his feet (he has to pause in the middle of a fight to think -- and the only way he got away with it was that his enemies were so confused about what he was doing), and -- well -- he's lazy. If he thinks he's going to win with minimal effort, he'll probably only put in a minimal effort... so, he'd lose to Naruto, who he has a habit of underestimating (and who is universally underestimated tactically, even by people who should know better), the first time he played... because he'd only put a minimal effort into it, and would be susceptible to overlooking Naruto actually having ANY strategy in mind. I actually like Shikamaru, but I find all the "Shikamaru's a genius, Naruto's an idiot" to be rather annoying... and just wanted to put it into perspective. I actually think he and Naruto are about equal... but I'd put Naruto as a front-line commander, and keep Shikamaru far enough in the rear that he'd have the time he needs to think.

I thought I was clear about it, but I'll confirm it just in case: Yes, Moegi is, in fact, a child of the Akamichi clan. There was no point, really, in mentioning that during her appearance a couple chapters ago -- the relevance of her placement there (which isn't all that significant, really, but it does give me a technique base to give her when I need it) will come out later. I was mostly setting up the argument by including her, that chapter. (that, and she was the most logical person to add to Hana's team in place of Daichi -- her, Ino, or Matsuri were the three people who could do it. They only needed a genin, so Ino was overkill, and Matsuri's team needed Matsuri more then Moegi's team needed Moegi)

To the person who ordered me to "do a time skip its getting kinda lame," um, (a) why do you think it's getting lame and (b) how will a timeskip help? A time skip now would only screw up the chronology, not change the story -- these things have to happen, after all. I mean, really, what is with people wanting a 'time skip' all of a sudden, as if that would really change anything? What, exactly, do you expect from this time skip? Please, enlighten me...

The subplot involving Gaara is probably scrapped. If I were going to include either the dead Gaara or the live Gaara tracks, I would need to start setting it up within the next few chapters. Sadly, I fear I may actually finish the fic before his ultimate fate is certified, at the rate I'm going versus the speed the manga is moving. (He's been pronounced dead, yes, but there are hints he may be... restored, somehow. But nothing definite, so... I can't make a final determination). All this means is that you'll be seeing less of Sasuke then I originally intended. I'll leave that open so that I can go back and possibly write a side story dealing with him and Yuugao vs. the Sand, as I initially planned, if I am still able to find the time to write when Gaara's fate it resolved. Sorry, all you Gaara fans out there.

With that out of the way, on with the story...

* * *

Chapter 24

"So you gave her those bracers as an engagement gift," Anko said, rubbing her forearms nervously. She had worn them, at one time, for a very similar reason. Sadly, her own marriage never happened, so she had given them up to the Office of the Hokage once the Fourth had been installed. She hoped they would be of more use for her son then they were for the Fourth. "I knew the Third gave them to you, but I figured you would have pawned them off to pay for something a long time ago."

"How do you know about those?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"Oh," Anko exclaimed, realizing her slip-up a moment too late. "I, um, had to retrieve them from the archives for you. I wondered why the hokage was giving away such precious artifacts."

"Precious? How were they precious?" Naruto asked. "I mean, I know that they're about the only thing I have from my family, but I didn't think anyone else would think them all that valuable..."

Anko winced, knowing that Naruto knew nothing of his heritage. She owed it to him to explain those things he didn't know, as best as she could. "The Uzumaki -- your clan -- were one of the twelve great clans which founded the village that became Konoha. When the First became hokage, he gave gifts to the chieftain of each of those twelve clans -- for while the people in the town no longer belonged now to many clans, and not just those twelve, they were the owners of the lands around which Konoha was built. Those bracers were the gift from the First to the Uzumaki matriarch, almost a century ago."

Naruto's eyes widened. "The... the Uzumaki were a great clan? But... where are they, today?"

Anko's eyes narrowed. "Except for a very few, they were wiped out in the last inter-clan war the Hyuuga brought to Konoha -- which makes me hope that their new civil war does not spill over here into Blossom. The Uzumaki are now a 'lost clan' on the council... which means you -- or Sakura-chan, once she marries you, if she takes your name -- will have a seat on the council when you retire."

"I'm not retiring," Naruto pointed out. "Not until after I've become the greatest hokage of all time, at least."

Laughter was his answer. "Perhaps not," Anko agreed. "But Sakura-chan could take the spot, if she ever wishes to get out of the kunoichi business... once she's married you, that is."

"Um," Naruto coughed. "She doesn't exactly want it known, publically, that we're getting married. Not right now, at least."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "Is she ashamed of you?"

"No!" he was quick to protest. "Not at all! She just... she doesn't want to get married now -- to me or anyone else, for that matter -- and she's afraid she'll be pressured to make it sooner then she's ready if it's well known."

Anko frowned. "Hm. I'm going to have to talk to that girl. I made a mistake very similar to the one she's making now, one time, and so--"

A puff of smoke announced the arrival of another ninja -- in this case, Aoba, who had been on border guard duty that day. "Naruto-dono," he said, bowing his head formally.

Naruto blinked. He barely knew the jounin, but he seemed competent enough. "Aoba-san?"

"There are a large number of ninja at our border," he explained. "And they wish to hire us to aid them in a mission."

* * *

Naruto vaguely recognized the man standing in his office when he, Anko, and Aoba arrived. Sakura was already there, looking at the man uncertainly, as were Jiraiya, Hana, Ebisu, and Ino. Even Hanabi -- looking rather subdued in recent days, as more and more snippets of news came to Blossom (all of which had said essentially that tensions were high but nothing had happened yet in Konoha) with no end to the Hyuuga civil war in sight -- was present in her capacity as his administrative aide. Naruto decided to check the man's forehead protector -- at the very least, he should be able to learn something about the man from that -- and saw that he actually wore two, crisscrossing over his forehead right over his eyebrows. One, on the bottom, appeared to have a relatively unscarred rock nin symbol on it. The other, however, was old, pitted, even a little rusted... and had a symbol Naruto recognized from an old scroll in his possession. It was then he remembered just who the man was.

"You!" he shouted, not remembering the man's name. "I know you! I met you about a year ago, didn't I?"

"Yes," he replied. "Although you were claiming to be a homeless nin of Rainbow, at the time."

"You knew I wasn't, though," Naruto pointed out.

The man tossed him a forehead protector. "Here. From now on, you're an honorary Rainbow. Now, the next time you want to go around pretending to be one of us, you can do so legitimately."

Naruto smiled nervously. "Um, right."

"Now, in case you've forgotten, my name is Toshio Kagai. I am the leader of the remaining Rainbow nin... and we'd like your help."

"Yeah, I gathered that," Naruto said, moving to take his seat behind his desk. "Aoba said you wanted to hire us for some kind of mission?"

"One decade ago," Kagai began, "Rainbow was attacked. Our people were chased out of our lands, our citizens were raped and tortured, and our property was stolen and used against us. Today, we move to take back that land. Uzumaki Naruto, if you aide us in that quest, I will consider your promise to me fulfilled."

Naruto paused, staring back at the man. He looked around, seeing the eyes of all of the higher ranking ninja in Blossom upon him, awaiting his decision -- or possibly, at least an explanation. None of them save Jiraiya knew of his promise -- and even Jiraiya might not have taken him seriously at the time, since they were both undercover. Yet to Naruto, a promise was a promise -- whether made to other people he knew and who knew him, to complete strangers, or even just to himself. He felt himself bound to keep it... although he didn't necessarily have to keep that promise the way the man he made it to said he should.

"What, specifically, do you want us to do?" Naruto asked. "I would be willing to turn Blossom into a haven for homeless nin, as I said, but I don't really have that power -- I'm only the acting leader, here. I could talk it over with Kakashi, and he might be willing to do things my way, but that's the best I can do. And what would my promise have to do with restoring your town of Rainbow?"

"Rainbow will become that haven you said you would create," Kagai explained. "And what I need from you is merely your assistance in preparing for the battle where we recapture our town. The civilian populace there has been terrorized enough, between the battle that lead to our expulsion and the poor treatment they have recieved since our departure. There aren't many left -- maybe a few dozen, at most -- but we want them protected. We want you to evacuate the civilian population so that we can launch this attack without endangering them... but we cannot allow our enemies to know we are coming. Are you willing to do this for us?"

"We can't," Sakura pointed out, stepping up to Naruto's side. "That would qualify as a B-rank mission, at least, and more likely an A rank -- we aren't permitted to participate in missions with higher then c-rank risk involved."

"Not quite true," Naruto sighed, sitting back in his chair and closing his eyes. "We may... but we require permission from Konoha first."

"We're talking fighting a war here," Aoba argued. "There's no way the hokage would authorize that."

"Not a war -- an evacuation," Kagai emphasized. "You might even be able to escape without a single fight."

"Unlikely," Naruto snorted. "Look, I appreciate the whole 'honorary Rainbow' thing, and the chance to fulfill that promise I made to you... but I'm not sure about this. I don't want to lose any of my ninja in a suicide mission -- not if I have a choice in the matter -- and I'm a bit worried that this could turn into one real quick. Write up your paperwork -- I'll go ahead and forward the request to the hokage, but I won't give you a firm 'yes' or 'no' yet."

Kagai smiled. "Thank you, Naruto-dono. As long as you truly consider it, I am willing to give you as much time as you need to make your decision.

"Aoba-san, please escort our guest to the hostels, and help him with all of the paperwork, would you?" Jiraiya said, gesturing towards the door.

Aoba nodded, guiding Kagai out of the room. The remaining ninja turned to Naruto expectantly.

He glanced around at them. "Erm, what?"

A couple snorts and other sounds of disgust answered him before Sakura stepped up and gave him a swat on the back of his head. "Baka!" she snapped in exasperation. "Are we really going to be taking this mission or not?"

"Um, won't the old hag be the one to say that?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Tsunade-sama is likely to take your recommendation, Naruto-dono," Hana explained. "You should have a better feel for how we are progressing here in Blossom then she does."

Naruto frowned. "Well, if she wants my recommendation... um, I dunno. I think the plan sucks as it is now -- infiltrate a town of ninja and pull a few dozen people who we probably can't even get a physical description of without letting anyone else know? Like that's even possible! But maybe there's something else we can do..."

"Like what?" Hanabi asked, shaking her head. "They want to get their civilians to safety, but how in the world can they do that?"

Ebisu stepped forward. "Who is the enemy in this? What ninja force conquered the Rainbow, anyway?"

"The Grass," Jiraiya answered for him.

"The Grass, eh?" Ebisu said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Well, if it's the Grass, then maybe there's something the hokage-sama could do to help us out... but it may mean we'll have to actually fight in the war instead, if you think we're up to that."

* * *

Kagai stood in front of Naruto once again two days later, although this time only Sakura, Hana, and Hanabi were standing with him. He bowed formally, saying, "Greetings again, Naruto-sama. I understand you now have an answer?"

"I do," he said. "I wish to extend my apologies, and say that we cannot provide the specific help you have asked for. The hokage has rejected your plan. She said it would require more resources then Blossom could provide, and that Konoha is currently too busy with its own internal matters to send the necessary reinforcements."

Kagai closed his eyes. The disappointment was clear on his face, and the struggle to regain his composure lasted for several minutes before it finally settled back into stoic formality. "Well, that was not entirely unexpected. I thank you for the consideration. We will do what we can on our own."

Naruto coughed. "Um, I said that we cannot provide the _specific_ help you asked for. I didn't say there was nothing we could do. We can actually do a considerable amount of work for you, but there are a few conditions..."

Kagai blinked, looking up with cautious hope. "Conditions?"

"Yes," Naruto said. "We have been authorized to fight alongside you for one single battle -- the initial reconquest of Rainbow Village. However, in order to prevent this aide from spilling over against Konoha, she requires that we send this message to the Grass ninja occupying that territory at least fourty-eight hours before the battle begins if you are to use our aid."

That made the former Rainbow ninja's eyes bug out. "Excuse me? You're willing to help us in the battle, but in order to do so we must sacrifice the element of surprise?" he exclaimed, losing his composure slightly.

"I'm sure if you _read the statement,_" Naruto emphasized, "You'll see the reasons we must do this. However, we will provide enough combat support to more then make up for that lack of surprise, and I will be able to keep my promise I am sure."

With a sigh, Kagai turned his attention to the paper in front of him.

"To the Ninja of Grass,

"Greetings. We have been hired by the former ninja of Rainbow to help them recover their lost territory during a single operation on your territory, through our forces located at the satellite village of Blossom. This will place them in direct confrontation with you. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the treaties you have signed with us. Namely, the Non-Retribution Treaty, which Grass and other nations signed with Konoha a century ago, during the reign of the First Hokage, in recognition of the mercenary nature of our industry and the troubles that may cause neutral powers, as we are. In this treaty, we agreed not to engage in retribution against the opposing ninja village for losses as a result of missions hired by a third party. As Blossom is, in fact, part of Konoha, this treaty is in effect with them.

"Furthermore, I am certain you are willing of the 'Civilian Protection Accord' which is referred to in the Non-Retribution Treaty. This requires that all effort must be made to protect civilians whenever our operations take us into each other's territories. Under this Accord, we are directing that you evacuate the few dozen civilians still living in the village of Rainbow to a safe location -- with the guaranty of safe passage back to that village at the conclusion of combat, whatever the outcome. We expect you not to jeopardize their lives by the common trick of placing undercover ninja in the civilian populace during their return home, should Rainbow succeed in reconquering thier home village. We also reserve the right to engage in operations to ensure these treaty provisions were properly enforced.

"If you fail to abide by this directive, or if you attempt an attack against either Konoha or Blossom to retaliate for the coming action, then we will find you in default of those two treaties. This will necessitate Konoha declaring war against the Grass, and doing our utmost to destroy you. As a neutral power we have felt comfortable enough with to invite your armed ninja inside our borders for the purpose of participation in the Chuunin Exam, we sincerely hope we can avoid such any such damage to our political relations from this occurance."

The giant seal on the bottom of the document would be easily recognized by any ninja alive: One of the five seals of the kage rank ninja, ensuring that any who saw it knew that this document actually had the rule of law over even the most powerful of the jounin-oyabun for any country allied with or even those hoping to maintain neutral relations with that kage's village. Grass was one of the stronger villages ruled by a jounin-oyabun, but Konoha was long reputed to be the most powerful of the five greater ninja villages (although some claimed the Rock were stronger -- something hard to claim, as the Rock lost the previous war against them, but then Konoha had been supported by allies and the Rock had stood alone). There was no chance that even Grass would refuse such an explicit order, unless it actually intended to launch a war or had an even stronger ally in its side.

Kagai grinned at the letter. "I suppose this is an acceptable condition. Are there any others?"

"Yes," Naruto said, a slight smile on his voice. "This is mine, however, and not the hokage's."

All of the others in the room looked at him -- this was not something any of the others, not even Sakura, knew about. "Oh?" the older ninja asked.

"Yes," Naruto said. "If I'm going to be responsible for sending my men and women into a war, then I want to be in charge. So, I will lead the attack... got it?"

"That's going a bit far," Kagai hesitantly pointed out.

"I know," Naruto said. "But that's my condition. Take it or leave it."

The two men stared each other in the eyes, one searching for something, the other trying to make a point with just a determined look. Finally, the older of the two gave a sigh, backing down. "Very well."

* * *

"There's one thing I don't understand."

That comment drew the attention of all four others in the room. "Wait a moment. You... _you_ admit to not understanding something? You, Hanabi, the one who knows everything?" Futaba exclaimed.

"I don't pretend to understand the minds of idiots," the girl snorted, a touch of her old spirit returning to her. The others had all noticed her acting extremely subdued since word came in from Konoha about their civil war, and to some extent they were glad to see that return. "Which may be why I don't understand why I've been held back from getting involved in one war -- a war which, as of yet, still involves no fighting -- because it is too dangerous... yet I've been sent in as part of an advance force for another war -- one where we fully expect active combat to a degree no genin has been a part of since... well, I'm not sure when."

Naruto stepped up, grinning. "Well... I'm the best fighter in this group," he pointed out.

"I'm not sure I believe that you are any better then I am," Hanabi replied -- although there was a grin on her face to indicate she was mostly joking. If there was one thing her ill-fated attempt at running away taught her, it was that this boy was capable of far more then she believed... and that she wasn't anywhere near the level she thought she was at, if a mere Academy student could do so much to her as that Inari boy did. "But go on."

"I'm also pretty good at disguises and hiding," Naruto continued. "But I'm not very good at finding hidden things. Between the dogs you two puppy girls work with--"

"How many times do I have to say not to call me 'puppy girl,' Naruto-dono?"

"Actually, I kinda like the nickname, now," Futaba laughed, smirking at Hana.

"And your byakuugan, Hanabi-san," Naruto said, resuming his explanation with a wink in the older Inuzuka's direction before returning his attention to Hanabi -- who he had started using an honorific with as she had gotten much more respectful of him and the others. "We have the perfect team to look in and make sure the civilian evacuation has actually taken place before we launch the attack, and will be able to get a better picture of what size of force our enemies have in place now that they've recieved the warning. Daichi is used to working with you, and he'll help watch your backs... but I'm the real firepower, if battle is called for. Got it?"

Hanabi hesitated. "I'm not certain that this is a mission for genin."

"Maybe not normal genin," Naruto agreed. "But then, you aren't a normal genin, are you? You are a Hyuuga -- which puts you right up there with the elites, doesn't it?"

He was stroking her ego and he knew it. Sakura had, in fact, conducted the test on her bloodline -- secretly -- and it came out with very interesting results. Naruto hadn't gotten more than the gist of it all -- Sakura's explanation was a bit too technical for anyone who hadn't had at least a basic crash course in medical ninjitsu to understand completely -- but he understood certain things: Namely, that the Hyuuga's 'enhancements' had lead to them having certain unusual tendencies. Namely, they would be obsessive about the power of their bloodline. He'd never seen it in Hinata, actually, but then Hinata was unusual in many other aspects as well. It would, she said, occasionally lead to compulsive or even manic tendencies similar to those found among practitioners of berserker techniques -- in fact, the 'gene' (for lack of a better word, as this was hardly what most of the medical community outside of medi-nin would call a gene) she had found in the Hyuuga bloodline was very similar to the 'gene' required for berserker techniques to work. There was no seal she knew of which would work against the 'gene,' and she lacked the resources to develop one while in Blossom, but at least now they were aware of what they were dealing with. And Naruto wasn't above using that knowledge to manipulate the girl into doing the right thing.

"Yes," Hanabi agreed instantly, but then hesitated as confusion over the state of her clan set in. "But--"

"But nothing," Naruto snapped. "Listen, Hanabi-san, you may be a genin, but you're all I've got. Besides, I don't need a combat specialist for this mission -- I need surveillance. Now, will you join me for this mission... or am I going to have to call in someone else? Someone who may still be learning, but is willing to try... like, say, Adaha?"

"Over my dead body!" Hanabi snapped. Truthfully, she'd grown to like the boy -- that her father had suggested she actually _marry _the boy if the clan was destroyed back home didn't upset her too much, in fact, although she felt herself too young, really, to get married... that, and she didn't really like boys in that way, yet, though she had found herself agreeing to go out with that Inari boy in a date (one where she made it a point that they were only going as friends, since her options for any other sort of relationship with him were... limited). Liking the boy, however, did not make her like the concept of him being used as a ninja. There was still enough of her mother, drilling into her head the requirement that people like Adaha should be forced to submit to Hyuuga clan justice, that she couldn't approve of him just yet.

"It shouldn't come to that," Naruto pointed out. "Now... I think it's time for our final mission briefing, don't you?"

* * *

Notes: I used the Japanese word 'baka' above. NORMALLY, I would translate it into 'jerk' or 'idiot,' but in this case niether seemed appropriate. 'Baka,' however, does -- I can see Sakura call Naruto 'baka' for being oblivious, even at this point in their relationship. I can't really see her calling him 'jerk' or 'idiot,' however. Ah, well.

I believe I mentioned, before, that there were a couple of different multi-chapter story arcs that had to take place before Kakashi returned. This is the first part of the last of those multi-chapter (as planned) story arcs, so sit tight. I initially thought this would be three chapters, but I may be able to squeeze it into two -- that last scene was supposed to be in the next chapter, but I realized I had to explain a couple things about Hanabi in order to temporarily resolve an issue I brought up last chapter. Because it's come a chapter early, I'm not entirely sure there's enough left of that part of the story for a full chapter on its own. We shall see.

Next chapter: The Rainbow War begins. May be a larger chapter, depending on where the chapter break hits.


	35. V3 Chapter 25

Volume 3

Notes: This chapter starts with the mention of wild red wolves commonly seen walking through public streets in packs. Lest you think this is something I came up with off the top of my head, this was actually true in Kanazawa, Japan when my mother lived there, in the late 60s (I think almost 1970, because she says she was pregnant with my half-brother when she actually walked THROUGH one of these packs late at night). It was a common occurance, in fact... It is an example of a 'local flavor' type of story of the sort I like to collect and add to fanfics, from time to time, to spice them up. I thought it was an interesting story, and so I figured I'd point out that it's 'based on a true story,' if you will.

I have been informed (although I haven't checked, myself) that there is a wikipedia entry on "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya" which those of you who are interested may want to search for, which would deal with the whole 'slug-snake-toad' thing. Since I find the wikipedia concept rather flawed for reasons I won't get into right now, I typically avoid them, but if you are into Wikipedias you may want to look it up for yourself.

I've gotten one application to write my side story, so far. I haven't had any time to look over it, however, so I don't have any real news on that front. Feel free to apply, still, if you feel up to it -- I'll pick the applicant I like the most, if I get the impression that anyone can really do the story justice.

Sorry this chapter took so long. I tried to post it on the 2nd (well, really the 3rd, at my usual 3-3:30am Eastern time), but my net connection was so slow I kept timing out while uploading this. The net finally went down on the afternoon of the third, coming up rather sporatically from that point, never staying up long enough to get into until earlier today. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter 25 

Hana, Hanabi, Futaba, and Daichi moved through the town of Rainbow silently, following the five Inuzuka dogs -- all of which were disguised as stray red wolves. It was not unusual to find small packs of that particular species of wolf wander through the local villages -- even cities -- looking for food, and most people knew how to deal with them: Leave them alone, and don't show any fear. It was a good way to keep watch ahead. Hanabi was using her byakuugan to make certain no-one snuck up from behind, yet so far had seen no-one.

The dogs had helped them to avoid five ninja -- all genin -- and so far found that the evidence seemed to indicate that the civilians had, indeed, been evacuated. There were still a lot of places to check, however, and they only had a few more hours of night to go. It was hard -- especially hard, since there was no real way to tell a civilian from, say, a genin or an academy student. Chuunin or jounin were more identifiable, even by sight, then a genin... and the fact that years or even just months of hard ninjitsu training tended to give a ninja a certain 'smell' helped the dogs identify them. Genin... well, sometimes they would have the same smell, if not as intense, but typically the only way to identify them was to look at them and see if they carried forehead protectors... or to go by age, for no-one would start training a genin any older then fourteen, and no-one who'd been a ninja for more than a year or so could avoid that 'scent,' as long as they kept themselves in practice enough to actually fight.

_Well, this is going easier then I feared, _Hana thought. _But its not over yet. We have to leave if we get into one lone fight, or even if we just get spotted, and yet we've only got a short time to go through the entire village. We have to speed things up a bit. But how to do that without revealing ourselves? We could split up into two teams, but that would increase the danger as we increased our range. No... I guess all we can do is move along as we are now._

A soft whimper up ahead let her know that the dogs had spotted something. She used hand gestures to motion for her team to stop while they awaited further explanation, pulling everyone back into the shadows. A few growls, snarls, and woofs later, and she had a pretty clear picture of what was going on. A trio of jounin -- smelling heavily of sake and other, stronger alcoholic beverages -- were coming down the street in their direction, singing... apparently, off key. The only way to avoid them would be to go back about five hundred yards and take a detour through an alleyway. Not exactly the best of situations, since it would mean they would temporarily lose their canine scouts and permanently lose at least half an hour of time, but better then being caught. Again making hand signals, she directed Hanabi to take point, relying on her to do her best with the scouting while the dogs would cover the rear.

Suddenly, Hanabi froze in front of them. With several hand motions of her own, Hana knew the situation was getting steadily worse. Down the alley they were planning to take, another set of ninja were coming. Now, the only way to avoid being seen by either set of ninja lead them onto the rooftops... and it would only be a matter of time before they were caught, if they tried travelling up there.

"It's over," she whispered finally. "We're caught either way. Futaba, call the dogs back in. Hanabi, can you tell what kind of ninja they are in the alleyway?"

"One of them is wearing a vest," she said. "Which means he's likely either a chuunin or a jounin. The other three don't... I'm guessing it's a team of genin and their instructor."

"A full genin team, a trio of drunken jounin, or the unknown," Hana sighed. "Well, team, your choice -- which set do you want to take on?"

"The jounin," Hanabi said immediately. "I need to test my skills."

"The genin," Daichi shot back almost as quickly. "We should get this over with and get out of here, quick, and we probably match up well enough against them to do just that."

"We weren't supposed to engage in combat, were we?" Futaba pointed out. "I think we should make a run for it, and hope that we don't get caught until we have the advantage."

Hana sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "You aren't helping, guys. All right, the dogs won't be here for a little bit. We'll wait until they join us, and then attack whichever group is closest."

"I still think we should run, Hana-neechan."

"Shh," the jounin woman hushed. "Call me 'Hana-sensei,' remember? We're on a mission... and you don't want anyone using our family ties against us, do you?"

Futaba flushed. "Sorry, Hana-sensei."

"And I think we should run, too," Hana agreed. "But I don't think we'll get very far if we do. And we'll just attract more attention if we have a rooftop battle -- no, best to have the fight here, and now, try to take them out quickly, and then move on... going as fast as we can at ground level."

The dogs came running up. "The genin team is closer," Hanabi explained reluctantly. "Looks like they're our target, after all."

"Good," Hana said -- not liking the idea of trying to take on three jounin, even drunken ones, with only three genin to support her. "Until I feel we've alerted too many people to our presence, we'll try and do this without letting anyone else know we're here, so no explosive tags or techniques which make an unusually large amount of noise... and try not to shout your ninjitsu technique names out, okay? I realize that's an important tool to help you focus your technique, just like a 'kyap' in some non-ninjitsu martial arts styles provides, but we can't afford the noise unless we have no choice. If it seems as though keeping quiet is useless, I'll give the word and you can go ahead and use whatever you want... and, obviously, you can do anything in a life-or-death situation if its called for, in this case. Let's go!"

They moved into a rough formation, allowing all four ninja to engage the enemy from in front while the dogs outflanked them and struck from behind. They swooped in, running as quickly and as quietly as possible.

"Who--" was all the first genin was able to get out before he was tackled into the alley's wall by Daichi. The strike temporarily took both ninja out of the action -- the Grass genin because he'd hit his head and was unconscious, and Daichi because he had somehow gotten tangled in the other boy's gear.

Hanabi disabled her opponent in one blow, then turned to assist the others without even looking back. Fubata had her opponent pinned, by that point, and Gonta was running up to deliver the knockout blow. Hana engaged the other jounin, but so far niether had pulled out any tricks and their taijutsu was fairly even. However, before she could move in to assist anyone, she sensed another presence behind them.

"Hm," she said, turning her head to the new arrivals. "Look like I get my way, too, after all. Hana-sensei! We took too long -- more jounin are here!"

Hana threw a powerful kick at her opponent, who dodged... before being caught by Kuromaru, spun, and tossed into the waiting pack behind him. Dispensing with him quickly, all five dogs moved into formation to protect the four humans they accompanied.

"Damn," Hana said. "I think the odds are slightly in their favor."

"They're still drunk," Kuromaru pointed out. "But I sense they are sober enough to fight effectively, if not at their full capacity. We may be in trouble."

Hanabi grinned dangerously. "I'd like to see how I can do against them, myself..."

"Um," Daichi muttered groggily. "I'd rather avoid combat, if possible."

Futaba was the only genin to remain silent, merely glancing up at her fellow Inuzuka confidently. "Hana-neechan?"

"Now," she said.

Suddenly, all four humans started throwing whatever kunai they held in a wide pattern at the jounin. All of the weapons were dodged, and the jounin didn't even seem to care... outside of one of them appearing insulted.

"What is this?" that man snorted. "Ten year olds playing ninja with some silly daggers? You deserve to die for underestimating three jounin like us so badly."

"Oh," a voice said from behind them. "They didn't underestimate you. I think they overestimated you." The insulted man spun around. "Rasengan!" the voice cried out as the chakra spiralling from not the attacker's hand, but from the point of his elbow, slamming the offender away.

The other two jounin dashed back from the man. _Rasengan?_ One of them thought. _I've heard of that technique. But there were only two people who could do it -- a master and an apprentice. The apprentice died, and the master disappeared. What's going on here?_

The other stepped forward, taking a challenging defensive stance. All traces of intoxication caused by the liquor the three jounin had drunk that evening was gone, and instead confidence showed in his eyes. "You got lucky, kid..."

"Shunshin no jutsu!" the boy cried, and suddenly that jounin was lying unconscious and the young man was standing behind him. Whatever had happened was too fast for anyone else to witness.

The last jounin got his first real glimpse of the attacker. He looked young -- too young to be who he thought he was. However, he was blond, his eyes were blue, and even that last technique _The body flicker? But..._ "Oh, crap! I... the Golden Flash? Here? But... but I thought you were dead! No... it can't be you. You're too young... but then, who are you?"

The boy stood to his full hieght -- not especially impressive, as he was a little short, but intimidating when added to the glare in his eyes. "I am someone who intends to become the sixth hokage. I am Uzumaki Naruto... and you, sir, are dead unless you agree to surrender right now. But who is this 'Golden Flash' you're talking about?"

"U... Uzumaki? There's one of you left? Oh, crap!"

The smell of urine filled the air, much to the disgust of everyone... especially the canines and the Inuzuka. "Geez," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I know that there are some weakling chuunin out there, but I always thought the jounin were to be respected. Look, I don't even _want_ to take you prisoner any more -- just get out of here and leave us alone. And, if you're at all smart, get out of Rainbow -- we'll be back soon enough to capture it."

"Y-yes, sir!" the terrified man agreed, before disappearing into a run so fast that the air vortexed around him, throwing a strong breeze around the street.

"Come on," Naruto said, gesturing towards a seperate road. "We need to meet the others. I'll go over the plan and then we can get ready for the fight. I'm not turning into a kunai, again, by the way... god, it gets cramped when you have to hold yourself in the form of something that small for hours on end."

"I'm still amazed you can hold it as long as you do," Futaba chirped. "That must take an amazing amount of chakra."

Naruto shrugged, taking the point as the team walked passed the frightened jounin and slipped into the shadows, trying to escape as quietly as possible. "Actually, I generate chakra faster then the drain I get from a henge."

"That 'rasengan,'" Hanabi said, looking a bit uncertain. "How did you control that much chakra? Few even of my clan have that much control, and all of the reports on your skills said that, while your stamina was absurdly high, you had very little ability at chakra control. For that matter, how could you put it out of your elbows like that? That requires even _more_ control! I didn't even see you forming any seals to help control it..."

"That's because it doesn't use seals. And I started trying it with my hands, of course," Naruto explained. "Once I really learned how to do it there, though, it got easier and easier. Actually, I blew it, there -- I let a tiny bit of my control slip in the last second. Maybe I shouldn't be practicing techniques I haven't fully mastered in combat..."

Hana, the last to move, stared at his back for a moment before following as well, softly mentioning to the dogs to scout around them so that they could avoid any future action.

_Golden Flash? _She thought, not paying any attention to what her genin were talking about with the boy. _I've heard that name, before, but where?_

* * *

"Koshinuke Ikasu," a stern voice greeted a certain battered jounin as he ducked his way into a local bar. "You're back! And without your two buddies, as well. Forget something?" 

"N-no, sir," the terrified man answered. "I... infiltrators! Konoha ninja, in town... attack."

Suddenly, the old bartender -- who was an older ninja, 'in reserve,' brought in to help take over a civilian job after he retired -- stood up and looked the jounin in the eye. "Konoha? Here? I know we were ordered to evacuate the civilians because Konoha intervened, but I wasn't told anything about them actually sending any ninja here... just some small town called 'Blossom.'"

"Blossom," Ikasu pointed out, "Is Konoha's new permanent outpost in Wave Country."

"Oh, crap," the bartender replied, reaching behind the bar to start pulling out his equipment. "They're tough, usually."

"I... yes, they are tough," Ikasu agreed. "Especially when it seems they can reincarnate one of their greatest heros, giving him all of his skills and techniques and putting him in the body of a sixteen year old!"

That slowed the older man down. "What are you talking about? Are you sure there really are Konoha ninja here, or are you still drunk from earlier tonight!"

"Trust me, recent events have helped me sober up," Ikasu snorted. "And I wasn't _that_ drunk to begin with. That... whatever if was I saw tonight, might not be a reincarnation. He could be a clone, a relative of some sort, or just have a remarkable coincidence to him... but, if I didn't know that he was dead, I would have sworn I saw the Golden Flash in action just a few minutes ago."

"Golden Flash?" the Bartender snorted. "Crap, kid, you are drunk."

"I may be a rookie jounin, but I'm no 'kid,'" Ikasu pointed out. "I'm the son of the man who was responsible for spying on the hokage of Konoha about two decades ago, remember? I've read my father's reports. I know what he was supposed to look like -- blue eyes, blond hair, spiky hair style. I also know what his best known techniques were -- the rasengan and the shunshin no jutsu. The shunshin no jutsu was only ever performed by the Fourth, the rasengan only by the Fourth and his retired sensei. I saw both techniques in action, tonight, taking out my two 'buddies' who aren't here right now, if you recall."

"You've gotta be drunk," the Bartender replied nervously. Unlike this boy, he had actually been an active ninja when the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, known to almost everyone as the 'Golden Flash,' was in action. He knew how much fear and respect that name had commanded... and the reputation those two techniques had garnered him, together with the kage bushin no jutsu, the kuchiyose no jutsu (being one of the last men to ever command the great Lord of the Toads, Gamabunta), and a deep background in seals. Not to mention a thousand other, less famous techniques -- one didn't become hokage without knowing at least a thousand, after all. There was no way someone could possibly have relearned even the rasengan, much less the shunshin no jutsu, so there was no way this young, drunken jounin could possibly know what he was talking about.

"I'm telling you, I'm not drunk!" Ikasu cried. "The kicker was the name, you know? My father's reports tried hard to find out what clan the Fourth belonged to. It turns out it was a near extinct clan that formerly was of great power -- the Uzumaki. He hid his name to protect his few remaining relatives -- unsuccessfully, I might add, as the last Uzumaki we knew of died only a few days before the Fourth did -- but my father managed to locate it in some old records from his youth. Do you want to know what the name of that kid was I saw?"

"Let me guess," the bartender sighed. "Uzumaki, right?"

The jounin nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto. Look, sir, I might have been intoxicated earlier, but I wasn't as bad off as you seem to think. I'm not delusional, here -- and if you want proof, you just have to come and take a look at my buddies. I need help getting them medical treatment, anyway -- the Uzumaki boy and the other Konoha ninja ran off in a bit of a hurry after they finished beating the crap out of us, and I came straight here. Please, sir--"

"Relax," the bartender sighed. "I'll come with you. At the very least, if you're making this up I want to be able to brain you for it."

That said, the retired ninja started following the young jounin down the street, making sure to lock up his bar before he left. A mere gesture, when you lived in a ninja village where everyone was trained in lockpicking skills from the age of two, but it did make it _illegal _to break in regardless. Unless someone was _very_ good, regardless, any attempts to break in would leave 'calling cards' which could lead hunter ninja -- such as Konoha's ANBU, or Grass's GHuND, or similar organizations in other powers -- to track down any thieves and... eliminate them. Anyone who actually _was_ that good, mind, probably wouldn't need to worry about being caught, anyway -- they'd be powerful enough to take down any hunter nins sent after them.

The old bartender wasn't worried -- really he wasn't! There was no chance that Ikasu was telling the truth -- no way another Uzumaki could be alive. He was drunk, obviously, and there was no question that he'd just imagined it all. Maybe he'd passed out and dreamed it, not realizing it was just a dream. He looked over at Ikasu with one very observant eye, and his resolve was shaken. _He certainly doesn't look drunk... damn._

It took just two minutes to find the first body. The man was alive... though not entirely healthy. His head was cracked open, and he had a definite concussion. The man's ear was practically twisted off, and there were chakra burns all over the top half of his body. The retired ninja recognized it right away -- knew he was one of the very few living ninja who would recognize the aftermath of an imperfect rasengan. It was close to perfect however -- very close -- but not quite there. "Hm... not quite as skilled as the Fourth could do," he muttered.

"So, you recognize it?" Ikasu asked.

"Yeah. Whoever it is who's doing this, though, doesn't have full control over it."

"Well... it was a very complicated chakra-based technique," Ikasu pointed out. "I've never seen a chakra-based technique generated out of a person's elbows, after all..."

"Elbows?" the bartender exclaimed. "It's supposed to come from the hands, though..." _Dear lord,_ he thought. _It's not just the rasengan... it's a_ variant _of the rasengan. Who is this kid?_

"Sir," Ikasu said. "I really didn't need to know that. Um, is there any chance I could desert right now, before he comes back?"

The bartender grimmaced, surveying the battlefield. He could see the last jounin, crumpled on the ground. He was pretty far away, but the retired ninja could tell the other man was alive -- though, again, not entirely healthy. "No, not yet. We need to get your friends into the hospital, first. Then I'll _help_ you get out of town... because I'll be coming with you."

* * *

Notes: Okay, one reason I had this 'war' take place -- a big reason -- was to have someone outside of Konoha realize just who Naruto is... and, perhaps, for certain people INSIDE Konoha to Get A Clue and notice that gee, there's a strong resemblence between Naruto and the Fourth, isn't there? (Especially for those who, like Hana, never knew the Fourth was part of the Uzumaki clan -- only ever knowing him as the 'Golden Flash' as he quit using his name long before he ever became Hokage -- it'll get them thinking) 

I've often felt as if 'that technique' that Jiraiya told Naruto not to use in the manga was the Golden Flash's Body Flicker. This, by the way, is the 'kinjutsu' Naruto wasn't supposed to use I mentioned earlier in the story. Why it was designated a kinjutsu will come out shortly, but not right away... and it may not be the only kinjutsu Naruto knows. I MIGHT have him pull off another kinjutsu, at some point, later on... if I need one. However, this was specifically what I had in mind when I mentioned that kinjutsu Jiraiya was teaching him. I was hoping to see if the manga would confirm my hypothesis, first, but the Neverending Puppet War seems to have run a bit long and so it's still just a theory...

The rasengan out of the elbows came from my days in a martial arts school, which taught the eight weapons on the human body were the two hands, two feet, two elbows, and two knees (and, considering Naruto, the ninth would be the forehead. I wonder what you'd call that move that beat Shukaku -- the headbutt from hell?). We know that they do some training to control chakra on the feet, and the feet are the 'hardest point' for chakra control to be mastered. Which means it would be easier to control chakra on your elbows then your feet. If he'd been practicing a rasengan from somewhere other then his hands, it wouldn't be his foot -- like I initially would have thought -- it would be an elbow or a knee. It's not perfected yet, as you've seen, but I was aiming on using some form of multiple rasengan technique to demonstrate his progress as he trains (i.e., right now, he can perform two at a time if he limits it to his hands, or just one imperfect rasengan if he puts it into an elbow or a knee. Somewhere down the road, with progress, he'll be able to manage three -- an elbow and two hands, and they'll all be perfect -- that'll show that he's making progress without my having to detail every single thing he is doing to enhance his training. Given how overused the rasengan has become in some of the anime fillers, I wouldn't be surprised if you all hate it by now, but I'd actually decided on this back when the Tea Country arc had first started, before he'd first used that technique, even, in those fillers. I decided not to scrap my plan despite this abuse of what was once my favorite Naruto technique, although his usage is more limited in this then I'd originally intended. (Also, to head something off before it starts, some people in Naruto forums I visit complain about even the concept of anyone performing multiple rasengan at once, on the grounds that it's 'impossible.' I would like to point out that Jiraiya was holding two rasengan at one point while training Naruto in the technique earlier, so it is very possible... whether the actual physics of it should work or not, we've seen it work in canon and so it works. Heh.)

I also made a very quick point about something: ANBU is exclusive to Konoha. It is, if you will, the Konoha Hunter Ninja Association. I've read fanfics dealing with, say, Sand ANBU or the like, but Sand would have a different organization administering its hunter nin. I think the fact that the only hunter nin we've been introduced to were ANBU (save for the fake hunter nin of Haku in the Wave Arc, who was described as a wearing the mask of a 'hunter nin similar to those worn by our ANBU service' or something like that by Kakashi, depending on translation) may have helped lead to this conclusion, but it is a false one... (at least, unless two different translations I've read of that explanation for Haku were both incorrect. Since I can't translate Japanese myself, the raw may disagree with me... nevertheless, I'm going with this explanation). I'm not as sure about ANBU being an acronym -- especially since I have no clue what such an acronym would mean -- but I chose to use an acronym for Grass's hunter nin organization: The GHuND, or G-rass Hu-nter N-inja D-ivision. Just letting you know, in case they ever show up again, and you're wondering who these GHuND people are... (Tum te tum tum, as one of my favorite sci-fi author's would say... and yes, I'm aware that, as they would be speaking Japanese, this acronym is completely wrong. Sorry, but unless I already know the base component vocabulary, I'm not going to be able to come up with a proper Japanese acronym should the need ever arise, and I don't. If you know Japanese, you're welcome to come up with your own more appropriate acronym. I'm going with the 'Japanese and English are both spoken in Naruto's world' theory, since there are a few English phrases used from time to time (at least in the anime, since I wouldn't know if they're also used in the raw Japanese manga). "Good Moooooening, Sakura-chan!" and all that. As that is the case, acronyms could be in either Japanese or English, as well...)

I wasn't exactly happy with the combat portion of this piece -- I think because I really only planned Naruto's actions and not any of the others' moves in advance -- but I'll try to make up for it next chapter. It might also have to do with when I wrote it -- which was rather late at night (I was rushing to meet my self-imposed deadline -- unnecessarily, thanks to the 'net problems). So late, in fact, that I realized afterwards I'd actually typed part of this chapter with my eyes closed. Literally. Gah, I hope I didn't screw it up, too much.

Next Chapter: Well, if I were making titles for the chapters, I'd call it 'The Battle of Rainbow.' That should explain what's coming up, don't you think?


	36. V3 Chapter 26

Volume 3

Notes: Answering lots of questions this time.

The Body Flicker technique (or Shunshin no Jutsu) is found in Kakashi Gaidan. Don't ask me to rattle off chapter and page to you -- I don't have that good a memory and I'm too 'lazy' to look it up just to answer the question. I think the Fourth is seen using it one time, to rescue Kakashi when his early form of the chidori left him vulnerable. We are told it is a patented technique of the 'Golden Flash,' who becomes the Fourth, but little more then that. It was referred to in that arc as something that was a signature move of the Fourth's, and not as something common among the upper level jounin. Nevertheless, it is NOT a kinjutsu for everyone -- it is a technique forbidden to Naruto (thus, to Naruto, it is a kinjutsu. To Bob the Ninja, it would be okay to use it, if he knew how). The techniques that Gaara and Kakashi use that are similar in appearance to the body flicker in the Chuunin Exam are NOT named in the manga or anime, and may not even be the same thing -- if some source says they are the same, then I suppose it's grown more widespread in use since the Fourth's Death... but note that niether Kakashi nor Gaara use such a technique in combat, nor call it by that or any other name. I don't think it's the same thing. The 'hiraishin no jutsu,' I have been told, is a varient tied to the special kunai... and whether that comes out at all during this fic is, um, not to be determined. My guess is that he used it as a combat varient, whereas what other people know is a non-combat varient of that technique. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, anyway. Heh.

Apparently, the data books say that every nation uses ANBU as its name. I don't buy it, but then I don't buy most of the data in the data books as canon, anyway (the entry for Anko, at least, contains information which definitely seems screwed up with what we know of her character, and this bit of info just makes them more suspect to me) -- the only thing I use it for is a source for names, since I always have problems coming up with names on my own. I don't see why Kakashi would say, 'hunter nins, SUCH AS OUR OWN ANBU,' if there weren't hunter nins outside of ANBU... which would also imply that ANBU wasn't the only hunter nin organization. I suppose other powers might use the acronym, as well (there is more than one 'Secret Service' organization in the real world... although there are a lot of other organizations which also share the same duty and go by a different name), and I suppose this could be a mistranslation shared by three different sources, but... well, who cares? Little things like this, when not corroberated by the manga or anime itself, don't bug me. The data books as a source for canon do, however -- I've been burned in too many other series by their data books (or the equivalent by another name -- 'memorial books,' 'art books,' etc.), and what I've seen of the Naruto ones doesn't exactly inspire much confidence on my part to trust them -- nothing I can specifically point to YET as yes, this is definitely wrong, but things which seem awfully inconsistent with a person's character or behavior or known battle techniques, etc. Anko's listing was the first such example, this is another, and I seem to recall on a certain forum a discussion in which a few other cases were made for mistakes in the data books -- a thread I can't find right now, or I'd pull it up and repeat a couple of them, but I'm pretty sure there are other 'uncertainties' with regards to the data books. That said... I'm not going to complain if someone else uses ANBU as a universal term, any more, outside of perhaps reminding them that the type of ninja is a hunter nin, the ANBU is the organization -- not the other way around, as I've seen on numerous occasions.

I don't intend to change the name of the GHuND for any reason -- not even to fix it to a Japanese acronym. Why? Well, it's sort of an inside joke. I don't know if they'll ever actually appear, but I decided at one point in the development process for this fic to come up with defining characteristics for each nation which gets involved in the story as personal background material -- material which may or may not ever come in useful for the fic, but which are things I want to keep in mind when describing certain things, places, or people. For example, the Rock Ninja are the masters of earth techniques, Konoha is the most metropolitan ninja village in existence, and so forth. Well, among other things, my background notes, under Grass, list that the Anbu 'all wear bear masks.' Bears are what Grass ninja will summon, when they summon animals, and bears are their strongest animal ally. It wasn't intentional at the time, but when I was hunting for an appropriate acronym for their hunter nin organization, I stumbled into GHuND. Well, there's a teddy bear company I've seen more than a few bears from called 'Gund.' Naming a bunch of hunter nin after a company that makes teddy bears struck me as amusing, and so I'm not changing it. (As a side note, someone sent me a link to a summary for the Legend of the Gallant Jiraiya, including the background that in legend, Japanese magicians used five animal types as the basis for their magic (among them, Snake, Slug, and Toad). For that reason, a certain nation which was going to have wolves and pigs as its primary animal companions will, instead, have birds and spiders. The legend is actually a bit disappointing, considering, but that's okay... I think it'll work).

'Golden Flash' and 'Yellow Flash' are the same name, two different translation sources (the one I'm using may be incorrect, but yellow and gold are, in a sense, the same color, and I have my own reasons for going with gold. I suppose 'Blond Flash' would work just as well...). Just clearing that up. (I like Golden, better, because of the connotative meaning behind the color yellow in American culture. In Japan, it might be different, but here... well, cowardice is not something I associate with the Fourth. It may be that 'yellow' is more accurate, but as I have not seen the raw myself I would hardly know, would I?) If 'Yellow Flash' is a name written in romaji, however, I may consider using 'Yellow' in the future. Those of you protesting that I shouldn't use Golden, please double-check any raw sources you may have access to, if you feel that strongly about it, and get back to me (chapter and page numbers, please -- I don't always take what my reviewers say at face value, and like to double check things. If I didn't, I'd have been forced to accept that Hanabi and Hinata's mother was dead, where there is NOTHING in canon, or even in the data books, which says that -- it's merely fanon which some people have decided to dress down writers for not accepting... sort of like the people who made me hesitant to even consider Naruto fanfiction in the first place, because they were claiming the yaoi was canon. Sheesh). I don't plan to refer to him by either name until Volume 4 of this fic (that may change, mind -- I may have to make a passing reference or two), anyway, so you've got plenty of time.

To remind people, Jiraiya knew nothing about Naruto's 'Hokage no jutsu' until after Ino's clone of him performed it. That, most certainly, was not the kinjutsu Jiraiya was forbidding Naruto to use. Sakura is the one who has forbidden Naruto from using THAT technique. Why the Body Flicker is a forbidden technique, now, will be explained in a future chapter (Jiraiya will be doing the explaining, and he's notpresent where the action is taking place,right now), but the reason as to why the hokage no jutsu was sealed is fairly obvious, I think. 'Some sort of fusion' technique between kyuubi and Naruto is definitely likely to happen from time to time -- the same technique he used in the canon, during the fight with Sasuke, for example -- but that is notTHE kinjutsu. Jiraiya, in fact, doesn't even know that Naruto CAN use techniques that involve fusing with kyuubi in that manner... although he may suspect it. And that's your Author's Notes More-Than-Minor (but less than major) Spoiler of the Day... (heh)

Because of a case where a certain reviewer chose to send me a private e-mail labelled 'Information,' which also happens to be the subject line of a lot of spam I've been getting lately, I'm going to suggest you put in the subject line of any private e-mails to me the word "Narufic" or the full title. I won't even open files labeled 'Chapter 23' or anything like that because I've had a few viruses come by in the past with the name 'chapter' in them.

Chapter 26

"You know," Kagai said, sitting in the war room with Naruto. Also present were Hana, Sakura, Ino, Ebisu, Aoba, Anko, and three or four jounin of the Rainbow, most wearing either very tattered Rainbow forehead protectors or the blank ones of homeless nin. It had been scheduled for Naruto to divulge his plan following his recent intelligence trip through the Grass-controlled territory. "I must say, I was sort of thinking we'd have the added force of that Jiraiya person here. We all know that his status as a legend is well founded, and I was expecting him to be our largest source of firepower."

"In Blossom," Naruto explained. "We aren't exactly overflowing with combat-trained ninja, and we're already down one of our strongest with Kakashi-sensei absent. We could only afford to leave one person behind to protect the village while we were gone, and only two people were around who could do that. Jiraiya was one of them, so he was forced to stay behind."

"Who was the other one?" one of the Rainbow jounin asked.

"Me," Naruto explained, standing up. At first, the inquisitive jounin looked disbelieving... but he soon took in the expressions of the others around the room. Sakura was looking at him with pride -- although the slight roll of her eyes seemed to indicate that she was rather amused by his boasts. That was certainly understandable, as the rumors were that she was the boy's lover, but that wouldn't explain everyone else.

Ino was grinning in Naruto's direction with confidence. There was a bit of pride, too, but more the pride of someone who believes they are a part of something greater, not the pride of, for lack of a better term, ownership -- the type of pride Sakura was showing. Anko looked sort of sad, but also greatly respectful of the boy. Ebisu had a knowing smirk on his face, as if he knew things no-one else did. Even Kagai seemed to look rather confident in the boys abilities, despite his comment about Jiraiya. And Hana...

Hana had the oddest look on her face, as if she was trying to understand something. However, there was nothing to her expression which lead any of the others to think she didn't respect Naruto's abilities in any way. In fact, if there was anyone there who chose to read her mind (Ino briefly considered it upon seeing the odd look, herself, but decided that she would rather save the chakra instead) they would realize that, far from being unimpressed with the boy, she was considering just how badly she -- and likely even the others in the room who should know better -- were underestimating him, if what she believed to be the case were true... as she was also trying to remember why the namethat drunken jounin had called Narutoimpressed her so. She knew that it was a name that commanded great respect -- as if the reactions of that drunken jounin they faced the previous day weren't enough, she had definite childhood recollections of her parents and grandparents speaking of that name as if it belonged to a great hero... but why was it no longer used?

"I suppose I have no choice other then to respect your judgement in that matter, then," Kagai sighed. "Although I wonder if maybe it could have been just the two of you who came, then, allowing your other teams to defend Blossom."

Naruto grinned. "No. I've got a plan, and I need numbers more thenquality for this plan."

"And what is this plan?" the Rainbow ninja who had challenged him before asked. "Why would numbers be more important then quality, when we Rainbow have plenty of numbers?"

"'You Rainbow' didn't have enough strength to take them on even before our hokage's declaration warned them," Hana pointed out. "Our surveillence mission proved that. The reinforcements the Grass have sent would be more then enough to overwhelm you... if it was merely a case of numbers."

All of the Rainbow jounin stiffened, and the questioner stepped towards her. "You bitch, how dare you imply--"

"Peace!" Kagai snapped, raising his arm. "Her point is valid. We were entirely unaware of the situation going in -- we would have been walking into our deaths, had the plans not changed. I assume you think we have the power now, with them, however... correct, Naruto-dono?"

"Yeah, sure," Naruto replied casually, shrugging. "We've now got me and... what, eight teams?"

"Plus two chuunin," Sakura reminded him.

"Well... I'm not entirely certain I'll need Ino and you," Naruto replied, flushing. "Um, sorry about that, Sakura-chan. I really only needed your skills as a medi-nin for this mission. I don't need Ino at all."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Naruto, please tell me you aren't leaving me behind this mission."

"Nah," he said. "I think I'll have you support the puppy lady's team, and have Ino support the closet pervert's. Anko... Aoba's team is the least experienced of them all, and may still be a bit shaken from... from Genma-san's death. I think you should support theirs for this mission."

"I guess that'd be okay," Anko sighed. "Geeze... here I was, hoping for a little action, and it seems all I'll be doing is help babysit."

Sakura noticed the slight hesitation Naruto had made when referring to the late jounin, Genma, but decided there wasn't really anything that could be done about that. They'd talked about his feelings repeatedly with regards to that lethal mission, and he seemed on the road to recovery, but there were still times she wondered just how well off he was, now. "Well, I guess I can accept that. I wanted to be by your side, though... what will you be doing?"

"I wish I could be by your side, too," Naruto agreed. "But my assignment... well, I kinda have to do it alone."

"Is anyone going to say what this plan is?" the frustrated Rainbow ninja grumbled, repeating his earlier question. "You all seem to have been talking around it since we got here, but I want to know what it is!"

"Simple," Naruto said. "Each team is going to take its place outside the village, surrounding it. I'm going to go in, and chase the Grass ninja outside of their fortified positions and into your waiting arms. Does that make sense?"

"How many people are you taking with you?" Kagai asked, curious. "We've only got eight teams -- it'll be hard enough to surround the city as it is."

Naruto smirked. "Who said anything about taking anyone with me?"

The Rainbow jounin started muttering among themselves. Even Ebisu and Aoba looked rather uncomfortable at the idea, though they remained quiet. Finally, Kagai asked the question which was on everyone's minds. "Just how do you intend to do this by yourself?"

Ino grinned. "Simple enough. All he needs to do is summon about ten thousand shadow clones, and he's certain to be able to chase them all out of town."

Naruto hesitated. "Actually... um, I might have done that a few years ago, but I've got better techniques then that now." He paused. "Although I'll probably have a few clones involved, just to try and 'herd' them to your ninja teams."

"So what are you going to do?" Since her walk through his mind, Ino had never guessed wrong when it came to Naruto's tactical plans. Which meant that he was going to be doing something he probably was incapable of back before he left Konoha... which made Ino very curious.

Naruto paused. "I can't tell you. It involves, um, something illegal to talk about in Konoha." Instantly, the entire Konoha contingent realized he was referring to the kyuubi, but the Rainbow were still clueless. "But don't worry -- I'll get it done. And if plan A doesn't work, well, I can always try it the old way, like Ino-chan suggested."

Kagai sighed. "Well, I said that we would take your direction, did I not? Very well. I suppose I have no choice but to trust you."

"But boss--" the agitated ninja who had been trying so hard to get an explanation of the plan protested.

"We follow Naruto-dono's orders or we give up," Kagai snapped. "We cannot win without Blossom's help, and Blossom will not aid us unless we agree to follow Naruto-dono's leadership. I believe that he may actually be capable of what he says he is... and so, we shall accept this plan."

"Thank you, Kagai-san," Naruto answered, shocking several in the room by bowing respectfully. "I will not let you down."

* * *

Sakura was very nervous as she waited for... well, _anything_ to happen, really. She sat with Naruto -- not the real one, but a shadow clone he had left with their team to warn them when to expect the first batch -- and looked in the direction of Rainbow. She knew he was all right -- as long as his clone was present, he would still be alive, conscious, and most likely fighting -- but nevertheless she worried. Something was bugging her about all of this. After all, while she knew Naruto was capable of great things -- possibly including the ability to outfight an entire enemy village single-handedly -- this was a war, and there were certain things about wars that were different from just about every battle she'd witnessed him partake in.

She looked over at the clone. He looked just like the real Naruto. Furthermore, he _was_ just like the real Naruto in just about all aspects -- one reason the kage bushin linked all his clones with him the way they did was so that they could operate independently, with all of his combat and tactical knowledge. They could also, when he worked at it, share information at great distances from one another... although they weren't perfect. It was easy enough for him to get confused because of the large number of different locations from which he could 'sense' things, for example, which at least once lead him to punching himself when he was still inexperienced with the technique.

All of this, Sakura knew because Naruto had told her. There were some things she didn't know, however, and she hoped that the clone would... and they had nothing to do with any ninja techniques.

"Naruto," she said softly, attracting his clone's attention. "I know you're a clone, but you can be Naruto for a bit, can't you?"

The clone grinned. "Heh heh. Yeah, I can. We clones are Naruto, and he is us... sort of. I'm not sure of the meta-whatsis of it all, but we're basically the same thing."

"Metaphysics," Sakura sighed. "Yeah, I can understand that. Okay... I just wanted to ask Naruto a question."

"I _am_ Naruto," the clone protested.

"I hope so," Sakura replied, shrugging. "I just want to know... has Naruto -- my Naruto, and not you, ever had to kill anyone?"

The clone hesitated. "Sakura-chan... maybe you should ask the real me that question. I do know the answer, but..."

"Why?" she demanded. "You claim to be Naruto. Good! So that means you can answer my question. The 'real' Naruto knows I'm asking this, right?"

"He will, when we link up or I'm dissipated," the clone explained. "Maybe I should teach you this technique, some time, so that your questions about this can all be answered."

Sakura smirked sadly. "Maybe I should learn it. Quit trying to avoid the question, though -- has the 'real' Naruto ever killed anyone?"

"Yes," the clone answered. "Well... sort of yes. He -- er, we feel responsible for someone's death, anyway."

Sakura bowed her head, at once both relieved -- for he should be able to handle killing if necessary during this battle -- and saddened -- for he knew the burden of killing someone else. "Who was it, and how did it happen?"

"Well, you were there... although I think you weren't able to see what was going on," Naruto explained. "When Haku and I fought... well, the kyuubi took over after Sasuke got hurt, and I beat the hell out of him. Haku... didn't want to live any more. He felt he failed, and wanted me to kill him. I had killed him, I later realized, he just hadn't stopped breathing yet... and the fact that he moved in front of Zabuza and took Kakashi's raikiri didn't absolve me from having killed him. In fact, my fist was on the way to deliver the lethal blow when he made his move, so... yes, I have killed."

Sakura looked at him in surprise. "Then... you were actually the first of us to kill someone?" she noted, astonished. "I mean... I haven't killed anyone, yet -- not really -- and, well, Sasuke never killed anyone while I knew him. I suspect he has, now, though -- you don't get the mangekyou without killing your closest friend, after all... which makes me wonder who became his friend after he left us, only to die later on? But you were the first of us..."

"I don't intend to kill anyone here," Naruto pointed out. "Once I get them to the ninja teams outside the village, well, everyone else can decide for themselves how to treat them... but I don't want to kill any of them. I will if I have to, don't get me wrong, but..."

"I understand," Sakura said. She looked over in the direction of Rainbow. "So... how long before they start coming here, and we have to make that decision?"

"The attack hasn't even begun, yet," the clone pointed out. "Although... yes, it just began."

A few moments later, an eerie red glow started showing over the treetops. Sakura gasped. "What in the..."

"Seven ninja, heading this way," the clone said, rising to its feet. "Get ready."

Sakura stood up, narrowing her eyes. She'd been collecting chakra for days for this fight, and hoped she had enough. She hadn't wasted much chakra in her career, but she didn't generate much either -- for something like this, she'd probably be pushing her limits. She'd finally managed to build her basic daily reserves to that of the average ninja, but whenever she wanted to do something special she had to spend a considerable amount of time in preparation... and she was expecting to have to do an excessive number of 'something specials' just to get through this fight. Hana moved close, her dogs disappearing into the camoflauge of the underbrush while her genin all prepared themselves. This was likely to be a critical battle, and everyone felt the tension growing as they waited. The Naruto clone started ticking down the time in whispered breaths.

"Ten seconds... five... four... three... two..."

Seven jounin broke out from the trees, staring across at the ninja waiting for them. Hands gripped kunai tighter, feet moved into more stable positions, and eyes narrowed, trying to assess their enemy.

"Thank god!" one of the jounin exclaimed. "You've got to help us!"

"Er, what?" Hana replied, confused.

"The kyuubi! We thought you Konoha nin had destroyed it years ago, but it's back! We need help if we're going to survive -- please, help us!"

In shock, all five Blossom ninja turned on the Naruto clone. He rubbed his hand behind his neck nervously, then winked. "Heh... don't worry. Nothing's gone wrong or anything -- we were expecting this."

Hana shook his head, taking the opportunity to put the jounin into 'protective custody.' They surrendered without incident, obviously too concerned about the kyuubi to care what was going on, otherwise. While she had the genin bind them up in ways even most ninja would be unable to escape from, another group showed... and another. In the end, eighteen ninja came into the fortified position they had established. Most surrendered immediately, others after a token resistence -- especially once it was revealed that they kyuubi was actually on their side, and there was no chance it would be going against them. Finally, another Naruto clone appeared.

"Everything okay here?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine," the first clone replied, gesturing to the prisoners who were being guarded by five very dangerous-looking dogs.

"Good. I'm going to head on out and see if I can find any other parties to bring back."

"We'll be waiting."

Sakura blinked, watching the second Naruto disappear. "Okay, what's going on, here? Is it a genjutsu of some sort?"

The clone looked at her, then shook his head. "Oh, come on, Sakura-chan," he snorted. "You know I've got practically no talent for genjutsu, outside of the basics like henge."

"Then what is it?" She asked, bewildered. "Has the seal broken or something?"

"It wouldn't be too bad if it had, any more," the clone pointed out. "Kyuubi has sworn to protect his own in the human world... and you, love, are his own."

Sakura blushed. "But it's not that, right?"

"I wouldn't be here if it was," he admitted. "These people are running because they don't know what kyuubi really looks like. If they did, they'd know that all they're seeing is a massive amount of chakra, in the shape of the kyuubi but actually much smaller, tied down to a human body and operating with its own consciousness."

"Er... chakra?" Sakura said, looking once again in the direction of the village where that eerie glow remained. "Red chakra, perhaps?"

He winked at her. "Hey, whatever works. It's not dangerous to ourself, or even to any of our friends... unless they're trying to fight us, that is. You could walk right into the 'kyuubi' and not be harmed. If one of those idiots tried to do that, though," he gestured at the incarcerated jounin, "It'd be like walking into a wall of flesh and fire. I suppose this is as close as we're going to get to a kyuubi form of Gaara's transformation, but it works rather well. Especially when you're going up against a small town setup like Grass has organized Rainbow, where there are only at most a measly hundred or so active ninja -- not nearly enough to even try and take one of the nine greater demons."

"A hundred ninja are about a quarter of Grass's entire force at arms," Sakura commented dryly. "I'd hardly call that 'measly.'"

"Well, I would have had trouble with it a couple years ago," Naruto agreed. "But you're good enough you could handle most of the fighting yourself, you know. You're a sannin's apprentice, too, you know... and a little birdie once told me he suspects that you'll surpass your master in time, if you haven't already, thanks to your still unrefined talent for genjutsu."

"A 'little birdie,' huh?" Sakura replied. "Just who is this 'little birdie,' anyway?"

"Kakashi-sen... uh, oh."

"What?" Sakura asked.

The clone grimmaced, almost looking pained. "Sakura-chan, I... I need help..."

She blinked, then realized what he was saying. "What? What can I do?"

"We won," the clone gasped, falling to his knees and clutching his chest. "But... we overdid it a bit. I..."

Unlike the typical explosion into a cloud of gas, this particular clone simply seemed to disolve into dust, collapsing to the ground. Sakura knew what that meant -- the clone had held on even after the original Naruto had fallen unconscious, meaning the slight bit of chakra its standard dissolution released could not be reclaimed. It was dangerous -- theoretically, it could lead to a condition worse then chakra exhaustion... a sometimes lethal condition known as 'negative chakra,' in which the human body converts things it shouldn't into chakra, largely because it took more chakra to keep the body alive by that point then the exhausted body could otherwise generate on its own... and sometimes failing. It took chakra to make chakra, as the saying went, and sometimes one could drain their reserves to the point that there wasn't anything there to facilitate regeneration. Naruto had never truly exhausted his chakra to anywhere close to that extent, before... but she had seen others who managed it. The first human patient she lost died of negative chakra... and Naruto probably needed more chakra then most to keep his body working properly, considering what he housed inside of himself.

"Dammit, Naruto!" she snarled. "Hana-chan, I've gotta run -- take things on your own from here!"

"What? Hey, wait..."

Sakura didn't wait to hear whatever it was the jounin wanted to say. Naruto was in command, after all, and he'd asked her to come... his orders overruled anyone elses. Not that she really cared about anything like that -- she was much more concerned with how that clone had dissolved. She danced through the trees at speeds she rarely travelled, burning her own carefully saved chakra more wastefully then ever before. Finally, she entered the now abandoned town... but where was Naruto?

There was definite signs of battle. The remains of an oversized ninja bear were trampled into a crater in the ground, fires were burning everywhere, and even a few human bodies were lying around -- most unconscious, although Sakura didn't care about any of them. None of them were Naruto, after all.

Surprisingly large numbers of shuriken of all sorts seemed scattered across the roads, stuck in buildings, and lying on rooftops. Some buildings had collapsed, others were on fire, and still more showed signs of damage. She tried to follow the path of the battle, but that was futile -- whatever had happened in that village, the damage was everywhere and there were no paths to track. Sighing reluctantly, she just made her way into the center of town.

There, she saw him. He was surrounded by a ring of fire, it seemed, as he lay in what looked like a giant fox footprint. Sakura started to look for some way through the fire, but as she approached it a path opened up before her -- something she instantly realized was chakra manipulation. But if he was as badly strained as she feared, then he shouldn't be doing that... and with that on her mind, she rushed through to approach his body.

He was alive, thankfully. Better off then she feared, in fact -- there was no sign he was even close to negative chakra. Some of his clothes were burned off of him, however, revealing scars and burns which frightened her -- even after the battle with Sasuke, he hadn't been this badly injured. His seal was plainly visible -- and was glowing red. Obviously, the last of his chakra was being put into the wall of fire around him, and was being maintained solely by the kyuubi. The moment she touched him, however, that red glow faded, as did the fire. He relaxed visibly, and his wounds started healing up right before her eyes. Deciding not to leave it all to his depleted chakra reserves, she started pouring her own healing techniques into him... hoping against all hope that she'd get him better.

"So," a voice said from behind her. "This is the boy who's causing all this trouble."

Sakura froze, then slowly turned to face the newcomber. She was between him and Naruto, and she would stop any approach. The elderly man behind her, though, lifted his hand, showing no sign of a threat in them. "Will you leave peacefully, surrender, or do I have to kill you?" she asked darkly, concentrating what remained of her chakra reserves into her body to get herself ready for combat.

"Relax," the man said. "I'm not an active-duty ninja -- I'm a bartender, in fact. Since the battle was over, though, I figured I would come out and see the damage... and I find the two of you, here." He glanced over her shoulder at the unconscious boy. "Is he the last Uzumaki?"

Sakura cocked her head, opening her senses to try and determine if he was really just making conversation, or if he was trying to stall her and allow someone else to approach. She couldn't feel anyone, but then she wasn't a Hyuuga -- she didn't have eyes in the back of her head. If an attack was coming, however, she wanted to delay it as long as possible -- to give her more time to collect herself, and to give Naruto more time to heal. Answering his questions -- at least, the more reasonable ones -- might delay him. "He is Uzumaki Naruto. My... my fiance. I don't know if there are any others of his clan still left, but if I have anything to say about it he won't be the 'last' of them."

The bartender laughed. "I guess he won't, then. But you can relax -- I give you my word. We have officially surrendered -- conditionally -- to Kagai -sama. We return their village of Rainbow and its remaining civilian population to them, and agree to a non-agression pact for the next twenty years, and they will stop their fighting. In exchange... they agree not to ever hire your people to fight against ours, ever again, regardless of the provocation. I give you my word as a ninja, in accordance with international law, that I speak the truth."

"I thought you said you weren't a ninja," Sakura replied, still standing defensively over Naruto's body. She really didn't have the right to question him further, since his word was supposed to be good enough, but she didn't care -- Naruto wasn't safe, and she would protect him at all costs until he was.

"I didn't say that," the man laughed. "I said I wasn't an active ninja. I'm retired -- and as our clan doesn't exactly have a standing in Grass's council, I figured I'd hone my trade as a bartender."

"And why are you here, then?" Sakura asked. "If your people have surrendered?"

"I just want to go back to my bar and get a few things -- personal items, none of which were here before our takeover of the village, as the treaty has agreed to." The man slowly stepped over to her, remaining far enough away and gesturing carefully enough to show he still posed no threat. He merely looked at the body she behind her, shaking his head. "I can't believe a boy that young has done all of this. How is he related to the Fourth?"

Sakura gasped. "You... you know?"

"Well, with that hair -- not to mention his abilities with certain techniques which were the Fourth's signature in combat -- it's fairly obvious. Our intelligence network even linked the Fourth with the Uzumaki clan, so that seems to be pretty good data, to me," the man said. "Is he a cousin or something?"

"No," Sakura sighed. "In Konoha, almost no-one knows of this... but Naruto is the Fourth's only son."

The man twitched. "Son? He was married?"

Sakura shrugged, not confirming anything. "His son is named 'Uzumaki.' Niether the hokage nor the council has ever given anyone in the general public any word on who Naruto's mother is, or whether she was married or not... in fact, the council won't even confirm for the public that he is at all related to the Fourth. As you know, the Fourth hid his clan affiliation."

"But you know..."

"I know some of it. But even he doesn't know -- at least not everything." Sakura paused. "I know more then most, perhaps -- more then he does -- but I can't tell him. I swore an oath."

"Indeed," the man said. "Well... good luck, fiance to Uzumaki Naruto. Perhaps we may see each other again some day."

With that, the bartender made his own way through town. Deciding not to risk leaving him in the open any longer, Sakura gathered Naruto up in her arms and started running for Hana's team. Once she was safe, and had other people around to help guard him, then she could heal him... but now, it seemed, it was just too dangerous...

And, perhaps, that danger was a bit too curious, as well.

* * *

Notes: Tenses when a sometime, but not constant, collective mind tries to explain how it works can get a little tricky. Urgh. I hope I don't have to do that too much more...

I know some of you are disappointed that we didn't get to see much combat this chapter. Sorry... but I need to hide the full extent of certain people's (coughNarutocough) abilities until later on.

Next chapter: The apparently long-awaited return of Kakashi, and Jiraiya chews Naruto out.


	37. V3 Chapter 27

Volume 3

Notes: To my Mediaminer readers, is there someone there who knows how to format HTML to appear properly on that site? I've tried a few different things to get it to work, but nothing I try produces the correct spacing. On it may strip my original spacing, but at least it replaces it with something functional and gives me a chance to make a few repairs once its uploaded... Mediaminer is jumbling my paragraphs together way too often, and I can't go back in and correct them once they're up without re-uploading the entire chapter. I'm writing this fic in OpenOffice, so if you can think of an alternative format to export it to (one that will allow it to show up properly on Mediaminer -- it won't upload raw OpenOffice files, at all) for uploading using that software, let me know.

I neglected to thank the four or five people who explained what ANBU stood for. Er, I actually got two different versions -- one chinese, one Japanese -- so I'm not going to repeat it here... but it's an interesting bit of trivia for me to keep in mind. ANBU's role in this fic is very limited, so I don't expect it to matter much. GHuND may or may not even appear, even after my insistence on keeping it in the story... (Then again, it may -- but if so, not until Volume 4. Lotsa stuff still has to happen before then)

I will say -- once again -- that I don't intend to use the character books and data books as canon sources. If you insist on them being the source that the 'shunshin no jutsu' is a common technique, I don't care if Kishimoto wrote it or not, I'm just going to ignore you. Period. The ONLY canon evidence is in the manga and -- maybe, depending on circumstance -- the anime. Key thing to remember: Even if its by the author, character books and data books are draft material only, and the material in them is subject to change EVEN IF ITS ENTIRELY ACCURATE AT TIME OF PUBLICATION. Rin's reaction is more evidence, to me, then the character books (which, IIRC, were published ten or so volumes BEFORE Kakashi Gaiden), that what the Fourth was doing was something special. And it had nothing to do with the special kunai -- that was something, yes, but it occured much later in the story arc. And the concept that perhaps the shunshin was 'redesigned' AFTER Kakashi Gaiden by Kishimoto so that it can be a common technique is... not very likely, since the point of contention is a character book reference published BEFORE he'd started Kakashi Gaiden. However... it is possible he decided that, since he never referred to it by name in the previous parts of the manga, he could 'redesign' it so that the technique (as named) was exclusive to (or at least rarely used except by) the Fourth AFTER publishing the character book. Regardless, the shunshin no jutsu -- as named -- is going to remain an 'exclusive' to Naruto and the Fourth in this fic.

Regarding Golden Flash vs. Yellow Flash... okay, the kanji refers to yellow, not gold. I give up... although I think one should consider idiomatic translations (in this case, an American idiom instead of a Japanese one) in these circumstances -- 'yellow flash,' in some parts of America, is slang for a blatant coward -- something I strongly dislike referring to with regards to the Fourth -- while in Japan it means something else. 'Blond flash' might be a more correct turn of phrase idiomatically, since they call blond hair yellow hair... but that stinks as a name, so I still feel 'Golden Flash' conveys more of what the sentiment is behind that name. Idiomatic translation is just as important as literal translation, in some cases -- I know, in part, because my late father made something of a name for himself in the Croatian-American community back in the early eighties helping a family friend, Antun Nizeteo, translate Croation literature and poetry. Antun Nizeteo was a native Croation who spoke English as a second language, so he would make literal translations and have my father convert them into idiomatic translations. It requires a VERY delicate touch, especially when dealing with something like poetry, but one thing that he said always had to be given idiomatic treatment was things which mean one thing in one country, but are a faux pas in another -- very much like the 'Yellow Flash' nickname, IMO. However, because some of you have insisted, Yellow Flash it is... in the future. I'm not going back to fix things like that, however.

Please remember that Grass, while a significant power, is NOT on par with nations like Sound, Sand, Konoha, Rock, Cloud, or Mist... and that Naruto was utterly exhausted by his feat (although he perhaps shouldn't have been, as you will see). Think of the force of Grass nin in Rainbow as about the equal, in power, to the combined might of the Uchiha clan when Itachi destroyed it. This is sort of my way of pointing out 'Naruto is one of the big boys' to the rest of the world, the same way Itachi wiping out his own clan proved he was on a par with that class... although, again, Naruto still hasn't met a true peer in face-to-face combat since his return (his brief encounter with Fake Itachi in the manga not counting). (Orochimaru, Sasuke, Itachi, any kage-level ninja, etc. are still very much a challenge for him).

With this chapter, I should pass 200,000 words as recorded by word count. Hurray! (I'll point out that maybe fifty thousand of those words come from these author's notes, but hey... so what? That's still an accomplishment) To celebrate, I'll... well, hmm. I guess I could explain in a very minor spoileresque manner a bit about the upcoming plot (yeah, I know, what's different about that from all the other times I've written these blasted author's notes). Here goes: You'll have noticed that, at the start, much of this volume was centered around 'domestic' affairs in Blossom. After Sasuke came and went, it's moved on to 'international' events. Well, it's coming back to the 'domestic' side, again, and should stick here roughly until the end of the Volume. Volume 4 will be much more of a mix, throughout, but you don't need to worry about that yet. Also, there are at least two more Ino-centric chapters in this fic -- one in this Volume (though not for several chapters), one (more likely two, actually, but it might wind up being one) in Volume 4. (That note is for those of you who mentioned that you were missing Ino from the story, after all the build-up I did of her in the early part of the fic) She will continue to have a supporting role in many other chapters, however, as one would expect of Sakura's best friend and confidant. Anko's big role, as I've explained before, will be in Volume 4. The genin and Academy students' importance will be coming up soon. Hanabi's situation will not be resolved until Volume 4. Sakura the Prostitute makes only one more significant appearance -- and no, does not die in that appearance. Hana's done with her BIG role in this volume, although will continue to play as supporting cast until Volume 4. Sakura's mother may show up again, soon, but I have such a hard time writing her I've been reluctant to include her in roles where I just need 'a close friend family member -- any close friend or family member.' Ino's parents next appear in Volume 4. Sasuke will not appear again until Volume 4, but he'll play a major role when he does. Any of the 'Rookie Nine' (and Lee's team) not otherwise accounted for may or may not appear in the story in any significant role, but if they do it will be Volume 4. (Yes, Lee's role is a big one... but he doesn't get much 'camera time,' regardless) Tsunade will be little more than a passing reference until Volume 4, but then takes a major role. As far as the Akatsuki are concerned, their big splash occured between Volume 2 and 3. The only Akatsuki who will appear is Itachi -- the others have been 'handled' already, and will not be reappearing in a significant role. What happened to them? Well, I'm not writing that -- Kishimoto (hopefully) is. I thought I'd mentioned this before... oh, well. Erm... does anyone want to know the future significance of any of the other characters I may have forgotten to mention? (Kagai and Ikasu will both make additional -- very brief -- appearances in Volume 4) There, that's the 200,000 word Spoiler Special. Hope you had fun!

I am well aware that this fic needs editing. I may come back and make revisions some time after it is done... however, in the meantime, I will continue to move forward with it as a draft.

In regards to my other fanfiction: Yes, at some point, I will continue everything. At least everything here (there are a couple of fics not available on either my personal website, this website, or Mediaminer which I have abandoned) will be continued at some point, I hope -- even things like the Ushio and Tora fanfic which I posted a teaser chapter for almost five years ago and haven't done anything with, since. However, I'm going to try and finish this fic, first... and then, probably moving much slower, I'll go back to work on some of my other fanfics.

From the latest volume of manga, it appears as if in the future some of the Naruto cast will be heading to Grass country. Erm... I shouldn't have to say this, but any information on Grass from the manga from this chapter (275) on will probably not match the information I've already released about the Grass in this fic. If I can incorporate any non-contradictory information in the story (assuming, of course, the Grass appear, again, in this fic... heh), I will. The same goes with anything in the newer chapters of the manga post ch. 263 (when I actually started this fic) which contradicts my background.

Oh, and in answer to one particular review, naruto tastes pretty good in ramen (or its cousin noodle soup, udon), so I suspect Jiraiya actually DOES find it tasty. But that's... not quite what I meant.

* * *

Chapter 27 

A mostly recovered Naruto walked side-by-side with Sakura... moving a little slower then usual, perhaps, but certainly not so slow the average person would notice. His initial injuries were almost as bad (though not worse, as Sakura had initially thought... then again, Sakura had never seen the full extent of his injuries, before) as he'd suffered fighting Sasuke, but he was recovering much faster -- his kyuubi chakra was able to help him, this time, and he was recovering quickly thanks to it. After the battle, most of the teams left for Blossom... but he had been taken to Rainbow, once Hana's group had joined him and Sakura, to recover for a few days alongside the other wounded -- the _only _other wounded person, Konohamaru, who had been hit by a poisoned kunai. The genin was treated, and found to be able to recover quickly, but Naruto was not. Daichi had taken Konohamaru's place in Ebisu's team, and Hana's team had remained behind while Rainbow was rebuilt.

If any of the Rainbow wondered just what had happened during that battle, they remained silent about it. The prisoner's odd claims that they were battling the kyuubi seemed too far-fetched to be explored... or perhaps just too worrisome. They had treated Naruto, and the other Blossom ninja stuck in thier village, as heroes... although with perhaps a bit of nervousness as they served them. However, once their invalids were well, again, it was time for them to return home.

So, with just Hana, Hanabi, Futaba, Sakura, and an ailing Konohamaru, he slowly made his way back to Blossom once both of the wounded graduated to 'walking wounded.' Truth be told, he could fight another battle, in a pinch, but Sakura was still concerned about his chakra levels... which was why they had walked and used horse-drawn carts for the entire trip, instead of relying on the typically much faster (for a ninja) method of transport, tree hopping. His chakra levels were, perhaps, a bit lower then normal... but kyuubi's were back to normal, and that meant he could access more chakra then just about any other living human, despite his 'weakness.'

His senses, however, were just as strong as ever. Something was moving around, following them. In his earlier days, he'd probably have thrown a kunai at it, and it would have turned out to be some sort of bug, or maybe a rabbit, or some other wild animal... if he hit anything at all. Now, however, he knew to wait for a while. As long as it didn't try to attack, whatever was out there could stay hidden... at least, it could until he was certain of what it was. After all, no-one else seemed to notice whatever it was, not even the Inuzukas, so he figured he was safe.

It became more and more obvious to him, though, that they were being followed. Finally, he grew impatient. "Whoever you are," he called. "You might as well come out, now -- I know where you are."

"It took you this long?" a familiar voice sighed. Landing in front of them -- and dressed in an odd fur coat -- Umino Iruka landed in front of them. "Maybe I need to give you a bit of a remedial course in watching your surroundings. So, Naruto, I heard you got hurt?"

"Nah," Naruto grinned casually. "I just overdid it a bit. And I've known you were following us for some time -- since that tree the lightning hit, about three miles back."

"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"And why are you trying to hide yourself from us?" Hana asked, looking closely at his furs. She, too, had been aware that something was following them, but the scent of some sort of big cat had convinced her it was merely a wild animal searching for strays.

"You aren't the only clan with good noses," Iruka pointed out. "There are some in Grass who are, too. As far as why I'm here... well, thanks to that little mission tailing someone who we couldn't find, I finally managed the promotion to jounin. And Kakashi-sama requested that I and two of the other jounin stay in Blossom for a little while, until we were sure they would stick to the treaties they've signed with us. I was out on patrol when I found you. I was curious as to why you were walking, when you could make it to the village in just under an hour if you started tree hopping."

"Our medic over here," Naruto said, grinning as he pointed with his thumb at Sakura, "Said Konohamaru and I were still too weak from the fight to risk tree-hopping except in an emergency, even if we were fit to travel otherwise. I always do what she says... but you said Kakashi-sensei gave you some orders? Does that mean he's back?"

"We got in a couple days ago, before anyone had returned from the mission to Rainbow," Iruka explained. "Jiraiya, sadly, was passed out, drunk and lying in a brothel, when we got here, and there was a bit of a panic before someone in the know finally explained what was going on."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Ah... Ero-sennin earning his nickname, huh? So, um... how did your mission go?"

"Well, we weren't really expecting to capture Sasuke," Iruka explained, shrugging. "So that part of it was unsuccessful. Thankfully for my promotion's sake, our orders took that into account, and had more realistic goals for it to be considered accomplished. We know he was last seen heading into Sand country, and confirmed that Yuugao-san was with him willingly and not as a prisoner. With those successes, we felt we had accomplished what little we could of our mission and returned home. We're really only a week early, so I don't think it's a big deal, is it?"

"Not to me," Naruto agreed.

He had gotten close enough, finally, that Hana was able to distinguish his own, personal scent underneath that of the fur he wore. With that, she was able to confirm it was, in fact, the Iruka she and most of the others present knew. "So," she said, gesturing to the genin that they should start moving again. "Are you going to keep us company all the way back to Blossom, or are you going back on patrol?"

"And miss all the fireworks when Kakashi-sama decides to 'chat' with Naruto about exactly how foolhearty he was in the Rainbow expedition?" Iruka laughed. "Naruto, I think he's going to be telling you to add whatever that technique was you used to your list of kinjutsu. He might also want to talk about you making a few rash decisions in his absense."

"I've made a couple mistakes," Naruto admitted, sighing. "I don't think Rainbow was one of them, though."

"Nonsense!" Sakura exclaimed. "You've done a remarkable job keeping things running, Naruto-kun! From what I've seen, a better job then Kakashi-sensei had been doing, in fact!"

After gaping at the sheer blasphemy of her words, Naruto shook his head. "I fixed a bunch of mistakes he was making, yeah... but he has yet to get anyone killed. I have."

Sakura winced. He was still feeling guilty about Genma's death -- something which, to the best of her knowledge, Naruto could not have prevented. "Naruto..." she started, though she didn't know how to finish.

"Got someone killed?" his former Academy instructor replied sharply. "Who? When?"

"Genma-san," Naruto explained softly, closing his eyes. "I... I sent him on a mission, and he--"

"Are you blaming yourself for _that?_" Iruka snorted in disbelief. "I've read those reports. Trust me, that is _not_ what Kakashi is going to want to talk with you about. He won't yell at you for things beyond your control, after all..."

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."

Iruka glanced around to see if any of the others were willing to step in on this. Hana looked embarrassed, but resigned. Konohamaru looked sad, but didn't seem willing to say anything. Futaba looked rather angry at something, but kept her tongue. Hanabi was stoic, but there seemed almost a slight tinge of respect in her as she looked at Naruto -- something akin to a miracle, since from what he'd heard around Blossom she and the chuunin had been rather hostile towards each other, and he knew that the faction of the Hyuuga clan he would have thought Hanabi to side on had wanted the Uzumaki clan blotted from existence for decades for merely presuming to be strong enough to challenge them. Sakura...

_Well, what do you know?_ Iruka thought. _It looks like her mother was right -- Sakura-chan's fallen for Naruto, after all._

"Look," he finally said, deciding that -- despite now being in love with him -- Sakura had either exhausted her arguments or had just given up. "Every leader of a military organization has to face the fact he will lose people under him, if he ever takes them into combat... and often, even if he doesn't. There was no way you could have predicted that assassins would be attacking at all, much less that day and time. Even if you had, and therefore refused the mission... if Genma hadn't been the one to die, it would have been that kid. Either way, someone is dead... and it was entirely out of your control."

Naruto sighed. "I purposely sent the weakest genin team, to give them more experience, because I didn't think there was a threat. If I'd sent, say, Hana's team... they never would have been able to even come close, for one thing, thanks to the dogs, and the genin might have been able to help. There wouldn't have been anyone dead, if that had happened."

"My team," Hana explained slowly. "Was not available."

"Kakashi-sensei and I took you out of the game far too long," Naruto sighed. "You could have been the ones -- we don't need your help every class."

"So that's why we've been getting a few missions, lately," Hana mused. She glanced around, her eyes seeing Sakura and just how defeated the girl looked. Hana had been keeping a close watch on the younger woman for some time, and had noticed her appearing more and more stressed as she worked to help Naruto through this difficulty. She had been trying not to let it show -- probably to keep him from worrying -- but the strain was almost too much for her. She was going to snap, soon, if Naruto didn't snap _out_ of it. He had been able to maintain his position, and hadn't let his grief affect his work... or even his personal life, but it was doing something to him. Everyone had noticed how tense Naruto got whenever he gave an order -- it wouldn't stop him from giving one, but he was obviously struggling. Sakura had gotten his nightmares to go away, but seemed unable to progress any further... which meant she would need someone else to intervene for a bit. "God help me for saying this, Naruto-kun, but... you and Kakashi-sama have been right. You forget how much access you've allowed Sakura, Hanabi, and I while we've been helping you with your administrative duties. I know, just as well as you do, how important it is to get those Academy cadets out the door with a competent set of skills as quickly as possible. Maybe you _don't_ need our help every class... but maybe those students do. Maybe, because my team was there those days, those students will have learned something they otherwise wouldn't have that keeps them alive. In this case, Naruto-kun... you shouldn't second-guess yourself."

Silence met that. He seemed to actually be mulling it over for a bit, but appeared rather reluctant to accept her words. Finally, Naruto shrugged and changed the subject. "Well, I guess I'm not in charge any more, if Kakashi-sensei's back in town. I'd like to suggest we get going, anyway, however..."

Hana smirked, noticing a grateful smile on Sakura's face -- they both had seen him at least consider it. That was progress -- the first visible progress outside of the end of his nightmares. "Yes, sir."

As they walked, there was something else Iruka noticed among the others. Whether he was officially 'in command' or not... when it came to the standard marching formation, it was Naruto they formed around as the leader -- Hana included. It seemed, at least to his former teacher, as if the boy who had always claimed he wanted to be the hokage had taken a big step in that direction: He'd learned how to take charge... and keep it.

* * *

"Ah, Naruto-san," Kakashi addressed the blond boy as he stepped through the doors into their shared office. "Welcome back. How's your health." 

"I think I'm fine, but ask little miss worry-wart over here," Naruto snorted, gesturing to Sakura. She, Hana, Hanabi, and Iruka were all following him in. Hanabi ran to Naruto's desk and began picking up her private papers while the others got settled in to various chairs lining the room. "She thinks I'm still too weak."

"You're still only two thirds your normal chakra level, Naruto," Sakura fussed, a little annoyed at the nickname he'd just given her. "And a third of your normal chakra is more then I can generate in a year. If you were perfectly healthy, it would have all regenerated by now, but you seem to be missing a considerable amount for no apparent reason."

Naruto glanced around the room, noting that Hanabi had already stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Kyuubi's having a bit of trouble," Naruto explained softly. "He really came through for me, back there, actually hurting himself to give me more chakra. He butted heads with my seal one too many times, and it's flared up. He's not able to push his own healing abilities through to me quite as quickly... but he thinks it'll pass soon."

"I'll check it out after we're done here," Jiraiya said, stepping out of the shadows from behind Kakashi. "See if I can speed things along."

"If you think you've got the time... _Jiraiya-sama._"

Jiraiya winced. Naruto only called him 'Jiraiya-sama' when he was extremely pissed at the legendary ninja, which meant he'd done something dreadfully upsetting to the boy... though for the life of him, he didn't know what that might have been. "I... I'll make sure I've got the time, Naruto."

"So," Kakashi spat, leaning forward in his chair and glaring at Naruto darkly. "I already know you took my village into war without me... and you got someone _killed_ on your watch. What else have you got to show for the past three months of being in charge, huh?"

Naruto shrunk back, stung. He could defend himself on the whole war thing, but he couldn't say anything about Genma's death. He was responsible -- he knew it, whatever anyone else said -- and every time he thought about it, his gut clenched. That Kakashi, of all people -- one of the few adults on the planet who actually both knew and respected him -- would attack him on it hurt more then any injury he'd ever sustained in his entire career as a ninja. It actually felt worse then the time Sasuke punched a hole through his lung... and that was saying something.

Everyone was shocked at Kakashi's outburst -- even Jiraiya, who thought he had been briefed, already, on everything Kakashi was intending to say. Iruka looked extremely displeased, but was even more concerned about how pale -- or perhaps even sickly green -- Naruto had gotten at those words.

Hana was the first to make a visible protest. "That's unfair!" she cried. "And you know it, too, damn you!"

Sakura didn't even bother saying anything. After taking one look at Naruto and seeing his reaction, she stepped forward casually, walking around behind the desk. The look in her eyes gave Kakashi pause, and he moved to fend her off, but Sakura didn't care. She reached out and grabbed one of his hands -- if he'd been standing, it might have been harder to secure a grip, but she had the advantage here. She held that hand in her own, turning to look in Kakashi's one good eye. Her face was blank and impassive... but her actions were hardly either.

"Crack!" went the bones in the silver-haired ninja's hand as she squeezed, hard. Kakashi winced and let out a pained gasp, but otherwise did nothing. So, she twisted, shattering the bones in his forearm. When he still refused to scream, she pulled his arm out of its socket, breaking even more bones as she wrapped his arm around the arm rest of his office chair. Finally, she let him go.

"I don't know who you are," she said, her voice trembling with barely restrained hatred. "But you cannot be Kakashi-sensei. At least not the Kakashi-sensei I have known all my career -- he would never strike out like that against Naruto-kun. Who the hell are you?"

"I... I'm really K-kakashi," he said, stumbling over his words and sweating because of the pain. "I--"

"_Liar!_" Sakura snapped, slamming her down onto his shattered arm. A fragment of one of his bones broke through the skin before popping back inside, finally eliciting that scream she had been aiming for. "Tell me who you are, right now, or so help me... what I did to that arm is going to seem like the greatest pleasure you can remember!"

Distantly, over the thundering of the rage-heated blood in her ears, she heard Hana say something about how she was wrong, and this was actually Kakashi... but Sakura refused to believe that. When the man sitting in front of her refused to say anything, she started to reach over and do the same to another part of his anatomy -- a more personal part.

"Stop," a soft voice said in her ear, as arms -- very familiar arms, arms she knew and loved -- encircled her, stopping her gently. She struggled a bit, though not very hard -- she wouldn't risk hurting those arms, nor the boy attached to him, before surrendering to the embrace. She spun around, tears in her eyes, pulling him into her own hug.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," She whispered in his ear repeatedly. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry you had to be betrayed like that... you know he's wrong, don't you? You have to know... have to understand! It wasn't your fault, dammit... and if what that bastard over there said starts making you think it is again, I don't care if he's the real Kakashi or not -- I'm going to kill him."

"Shh," he hushed, stroking her back calmingly as he rocked her in his embrace. To his astonishment, he found that she was actually more broken up about this then he was. "Relax... I'm okay. It's all right. I can deal with it, and he had the right to ask that question..."

"No he did not!" Sakura insisted frantically. "You've been hurt enough by this already. I know -- remember? I'm the one who's been coaxing you through all those nightmares, I'm the one who's been there when you broke down, I'm the one who understands... he doesn't. He doesn't have the right. No-one has the right to torture you with this any more..."

Kakashi, now being ignored by the couple, did his best to disentangle his arm from the struts of the seat, hissing every time he moved. He'd already done what little emergency treatment he could on his shoulder, which restored circulation into the wounded region... but there was little else he could do. Off-handedly, he knew he was in shock... and, in an odd way, was grateful for it. If he hadn't been in shock, he knew that he'd be fretting over the numbness which was penetrating his arm.

Finally, other hands came in, helping him get free of the chair. He looked up to see two jounin and one legendary ninja staring at him darkly, if a little surprised by the violence that had just taken place. Iruka was looking down at him as a parent would to the man he'd just found beating his kid, Hana had a rather feral snarl on her face, and Jiraiya... looked disappointed.

"Crap," Kakashi said, wincing when he accidentally jolted his arm. "Next time I intentionally try and provoke someone, I'm going to make sure that it's only a shadow clone waiting to see the reaction, and not the real me." He felt like throwing up, the pain was so great, but he knew that probably wouldn't be a good thing right now -- everyone was disgusted with him, enough. He wanted to seek medical attention, as well, but the only person in the whole village who could treat injuries this severe was the now almost catatonic woman in Naruto's arms -- the same woman who had done this to him. His best bet was to wait until she'd calmed down, regained her senses, and realized that she should probably fix the damage she'd caused. He didn't want to pass out, however, so he tried to concentrate on talking. "Let me guess -- I went about the wrong tact in trying to get him to explain his command decisions, huh?"

Hana was furious. "Sakura has been working on him for almost two months, now, trying to help him recover from the guilt of having sent Genma to his death. While he's continued to function far beyond anyone's expectations -- including Tsunade's -- he's been letting that incident dwell on him ever since it occured. Everyone has done _everything_ they could to convince him that anyone in his position would have done the same thing, and that he made the right decision with the information he had, and the best we've been able to do -- or rather, Sakura has been able to do, since she has been just about the only person he'd listen to about all this, was get his nightmares to stop. I think, just about two or three hours ago, we _finally_ made a breakthrough and got him to start thinking rationally about it. And, in all of ten seconds, you ruin all that work."

Kakashi winced -- this time, for reasons other then his arm. "Damn... but I don't get it. Why does he feel so torn up about it? As far as I know, he barely ever even talked to Genma -- didn't know him. I understand some grief, but... no more then you'd expect for a casual acquaintance. Why is he so torn up about this?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Kakashi-san... what is the thing you feel the most guilt about?"

That caused the injured jounin to shake his head, almost laughing in his delirium. "Um... is that a trick question?"

The old pervert waved him off. "Right. Okay, the think you feel the most guilt about that has occured in the past five years or so?"

That was also a pretty stupid question, in Kakashi's mind, but at least he was willing to say it aloud. "Not doing what I could to keep Sasuke-kun from turning traitor."

The questioning started going faster. "What could you have done, though?"

"I could have trained him more."

"How would that have helped?"

"He wouldn't have felt inferior -- he would have known he could grow to match Itachi while still in Konoha."

"But why do you care? Was Sasuke-kun your friend?"

"No. He was the person I was supposed to train and protect."

"But he left, anyway, despite the fact you couldn't have known the circumstances which lead him to betray us. So you feel guilty about that, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then don't you see why Naruto feels so guilty about Genma?" Jiraiya asked, finally making his point. "Can't you see that he felt he had a duty to keep Genma and his entire team -- and everyone else in this village -- protected? And that he feels he failed that duty, even though he did everything right with the information he had at hand? You've been blaming yourself over Sasuke, and it's been three years, now. It's only been a little under two months for Naruto to try and recover... and he's a lot more emotional of a person then you are. Do you understand what's going on, now?"

"I... I think so," Kakashi gasped out, as the numbness in his arm started to fade and the pain returned. "Um... do you think Sakura-chan would be willing to fix this arm of mine she broke, yet? I'm, uh, sort of in dire straights at the moment."

Sakura, her attention drawn by her name being called, spun around in Naruto's arms to face him. "You'll have to go to Konoha to get that fixed. There are only three people in the world who can repair that damage... and you've just made one of those three so disgusted with you that she wouldn't lift a finger to save your life."

Kakashi winced. "Could you, um, at least fix it enough so that I can make the trip? Or maybe get the bleeding to stop, anyway?"

"No. Try the hospital."

Sighing, the silver-haired jounin gathered his strength and slowly stood up. He managed one step before nearly collapsing again in pain, only to be caught by Iruka. "I guess I should get you to the hospital," Iruka sighed, dragging him away.

Stepping in close to Hana -- in as non-threatening a way as possible, as he just wanted to talk and not use the opportunity for his usual shenanigans, Jiraiya whispered, "Despite what I told Kakashi-san, that reaction of Sakura's was... rather extreme. I know she's been on the edge, a bit, for a variety of reasons, but still... did something happen on that mission? Something I might not know about?"

"I think she had a nervous breakdown because she saw that Naruto was about to have one," Hana suggested, shrugging. "As far as what else might be causing this... well, he was hurt -- but you knew about that, right?"

"Yeah," Jiraiya grudgingly admitted. "Although I'm not sure how."

"He exhausted his chakra," Hana explained. "As well as kyuubi's, apparently. He nearly had a case of negative chakra, from what I was told."

"That... that shouldn't be possible," Jiraiya exclaimed, blinking. "Just how the hell did that happen?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Hana sighed. "But he was pulling a high load of constant drain on his chakra for a significant amount of time."

"Explain."

"The night before the battle, he joined my team on an expedition into Rainbow Village -- largely a scouting exercise to ascertain the enemy strength, but we were also interested in discovering how many civilians, if any, might have been left behind. He, however, decided to conceal himself by transforming into one of my kunai. He remained as a kunai for three hours, while my team conducted an almost complete scout of the village before we were discovered. I threw him behind the enemy, along with a concealing barrage of additional kunai. He then used two special techniques which I believe can consume high amounts of chakra. The rasengan was the first -- and I'm _certain_ that one uses a lot of chakra, considering how much was visible. Then he used a technique he called the body flicker -- a move I don't know, and therefore cannot determine the amount of chakra it made him bleed off."

"Damn," Jiraiya sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to give that boy a talking to, despite Kakashi's blunder. He's not allowed to use that technique in most circumstances."

"A kinjutsu?" Hana asked, surprised.

"It wouldn't be for most people," Jiraiya sighed. "But... well, it's complicated -- I may tell you about it later, if you're still interested. But if it were that he would have collapsed then and there, so go on."

"Well," Hana replied, frowning. "We all started using chakra to enhance our speed, slightly, as we made our way out of the village that night. Then, when we got back, I and my team got some rest while he took care of the report and made the final amendments to his plan, which he presented to us in the morning. We met, and discussed the plan -- he would attack the village, himself, alone, and chase the enemy towards the eight other teams that would all be set up to capture or kill any fleeing Grass ninja who came our way. We waited until dusk -- and, to the best of my knowledge, he didn't spend much of that waiting period resting, if any -- where upon he created a couple dozen shadow clones who would help with communication between us and who would help 'herd' the enemy into our grasp. As far as what happened in the village, well, we're not sure -- the Grass nin we caught were saying something about kyuubi attacking, but Naruto assured us that it was just a projection of his red chakra and not anything else."

"When he was fighting Gaara," Jiraiya noted, "He had to transform Gamabunta into something with teeth and claws. He used the image of kyuubi, then... so this isn't unprecedented. Nevertheless, I'll have to warn him not to try something like that in the future -- too much of that, and he will ruin the little bit of acceptance he has gotten around Konoha. They now think he can control the kyuubi's chakra -- which he can, obviously -- but if rumors came out about a 'kyuubi' who was attacking villages, well, they just might start thinking his control has slipped."

Hana nodded. "Yes, I agree."

"You don't need to worry about kyuubi, even if my powers do slip," Naruto said from across the room. "And I could hear the two of you talking about me all the way over here. Next time you want to hide something from me, try not being so loud, okay?"

"We weren't trying to hide, exactly," Hana explained, approaching him alongside Jiraiya. "At least I wasn't. I just didn't want to disturb you and Sakura-chan."

"I'm okay, now," Sakura sighed. "And... and I know I overreacted with Kakashi-sensei. After the hospital team sets it, I'll heal his arm for him... although, if he's had any of the trainee medi-nin try and fix it for him, I'll have to re-break it to do so," she pointed out with a grin. "Naruto being hurt did have something to do with it. The fact that he hasn't healed, yet -- either the older wound of Genma's death or the newer one of his chakra exhaustion -- worries me, and I'm afraid I took it out on sensei unfairly."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Sakura-chan," Naruto sighed, giving her a squeeze. "I think I'm better about Genma, though... yeah, that stung -- especially coming from Kakashi-sensei -- but your reaction, I think, surprised the pain right out of me. If you're going to do that every time I feel a little guilty about something, maybe I should just try and not feel so guilty about it, huh?"

Sakura chuckled wearily. "Don't feel guilty about things you shouldn't feel guilty about. Guilt, however, like all other emotions, has its place in keeping a person healthy, too... but don't let it consume you, okay?"

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!"

Jiraiya grinned, slightly, seeing his apprentice doing so well. He, too, was aware of the secret engagement between the young couple in front of them, and he had been greatly heartened when he found out -- it meant that Naruto was willing to try and put his nightmares over Genma behind him and get back into life. And, whenever he had been with Sakura, he had seemed lively enough... but he had been letting the shadow of Genma's death hang over him, nonetheless. That seemed gone, now -- well mostly -- and all it had cost them was the temporary loss of one of Kakashi's arms.

Still, he wasn't going to risk breaking this fragile peace by being too rough with him when he chewed the boy out.

"Naruto?" he inquired gently.

"Yeah, Ero-sennin?"

"Didn't I tell you not to use the shunshin no jutsu?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Didn't I tell you to look after Blossom in my absence,_ Jiraiya-sama_? I understand that you were found passed out and drunk in a brothel when Kakashi-sensei arrived."

Jiraiya winced. "Look, we can talk about that later, but not right now. Look, Naruto... I told you the shunshin no jutsu was a kinjutsu to you for a reason. The technique requires that you 'throw' your chakra into where you want to go and then have it 'pull' you in. The dual chakra nature of your body, however, makes that process... dangerous. There's the possibility that kyuubi could get free, which is why I told you to only use it as a last ditch effort to protect all of Konoha. A small battle with a little village like Grass's contingent in Rainbow is not adequate justification for using that technique."

"I told you," Naruto sighed. "Even if kyuubi is freed, you don't need to worry. He will protect his own." He squeezed Sakura slightly. "So he won't hurt anyone of Blossom or Konoha, any more."

Jiraiya hesitated. Apparently, the boy honestly believed that... and he might be right, given that no-one really knew what the long term effects were on the bijuu of a jinchuuriki like Naruto's and Gaara's. "Still, it is rather dangerous for you to be attempting something like that. It... it might... Um, Naruto... you said that the seal had 'flared up' and that kyuubi was having trouble passing chakra through to you. What did you mean by that?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Well... I guess you could say it kind of 'leaks,' a bit. It's like trying to plug a leak in a water balloon while you're still filling it -- you need a third hand to pinch the leak shut while you're using you're using your other hands to pour in the water. Whenever he pushes chakra through, some of it drains back into him in a rather dangerous way unless he tries to shield himself against it."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Sakura... step away from Naruto for a moment, please."

"Why?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Because I need to fix Naruto's seal," he said. "And I need to do it before his own red chakra kills him."

* * *

Notes: Well, it seems as if Jiraiya's confrontation with Naruto went a bit different then I originally planned. Ah, well -- most of the points I intended him to make came across pretty well, anyway, and I think what I traded out for it (a more complete and decisive Sakura-Kakashi confrontation) made up for it, plus it provides a better lead-in to the next chapter then the one I'd originally envisioned. 

Next chapter: Naruto's connection to the kyuubi must be repaired, and Kakashi's odd behavior -- and the state of affairs in Blossom when he left -- is explained. Partially.


	38. V3 Chapter 28

Volume 3

Notes: Erm... while most of the reviews for last chapter were generally positive, I apparently did something last chapter to really offend someone (who left an anonymous review), who said that it ruined the entire fic for them and he wouldn't read any more. Er... okay. Dunno what that might have been, but okay. Might have been nice if the guy explained WHY last chapter turned the first thirty-six chapters of the fic into something which was so, in his word, 'sucky,' but oh, well. That, and there was another person (whose anonymous review arrived suspiciously close to the first one) which said that my writing was 'sub-par' last chapter, again without explaining why (although he, at least, was willing to say 'his' (I'm assuming he means Kakashi's) characterization as one reason for not liking the chapter... despite the fact that I pointed out that Kakashi's actions and motives have yet to be fully explained, although that has nothing to do with 'writing quality.') it was so bad. If you're going to say something like that, I'd like to know just why you hated it so, outside of mentioning things I've already said will be further explained. I mean, come on, do you really think I'd have Kakashi that crass without reason? And, while I completely understand not liking my characterization of Kakashi so far, what does that have to do with my writing quality?

I also had my first flamer who actually signed his name. I dunno if he'll actually read this or not, though, and there's not really much I can say to him. He says I made 'Kakashi so out of character he doesn't appear to be Kakashi any more.' Well, I can certainly understand that impression, even if he's basing this on a Kakashi who was obviously not acting normally before any explanation of his abnormal behavior could be given. He said I was 'bad-mouthing the character and data books,' which I will deny -- I think they're fun. I think the movies and some of the filler anime is fun, too. I just don't think they're reliable sources of canon material. He says I was badmouthing the translation of 'Yellow Flash.' I was... but only because the literal translation becomes a pejorative in some regional dialects of English, and would prefer a more idiomatic translation. As I said, before, the most correct idiomatic translation is 'Blond Flash,' because it was his hair color and his speed which were being talked about. Yellow Flash is the literal translation. I have no issue with either one being used by other people. I would prefer to use Golden Flash as a compromise between the silly-sounding 'Blond Flash' and the insulting 'Yellow Flash,' but no-one here seems to like that, so I (as I have already said) will use the insulting but literal 'Yellow Flash' in the future. He says I've made Naruto 'so overpowered, that even kakashi sic, who is a GENIUS with the SHARINGAN, is subpar to Naruto,' despite me repeatedly explaining that while he has surpassed Kakashi (and really, I haven't even said that much, yet, story-wise. Perhaps in the author's notes somewhere...), he's still only on par with the Jiraiya-Orochimaru-Tsunade-Itachi-level elite (all of whom are beyond Kakashi IN CANON), as Jiraiya spent the two and a half years drilling Naruto into being better then he, himself. Finally, he says my 'Authors notes are even longer then the story itself.' While my authors notes are, indeed, long (longer then I would like), I have yet to write even a single chapter where the authors notes are longer then the story... but he might not have been 'literal' when mentioning that. However, I can understand all of his criticism. I just don't have anything to say to any of it beyond what I already have, so... tough beans, friend. Go in peace, and enjoy other stories where Kakashi is the overpowered one, there are no author's notes, there's never anyone who acts in a manner not of their canon nature at any point for any reason, and the data books are considered so canon the information in them cannot be ignored, even if Kishimoto himself does at some point in the future (for, as I said, at best their information is only reliable at time of publication, and all such information is subject to change).

The funny thing is... I'm not sure the critics would have reacted quite so strongly if I hadn't had Sakura react so strongly. Possibly that's because the explanation would have been last chapter and not this one, but I had to have her react that way. Well, we'll see what people think after this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 28

After one panicked squeal, Sakura was immediately off of Naruto and guiding him -- rather forcefully -- into a position on the floor that allowed the legendary ninja to examine him. "What can I do?" She snapped forcefully. The expression on her face, in her eyes, showed the same intensity which she must have been feeling as she'd casually snapped her former teachers arm into pieces. Jiraiya didn't want to tell her what he believed to be the truth -- that there wasn't anything she could do -- but perhaps he could get her out of the way.

"I don't know yet," he answered. "I need to get a closer look at the seal, to confirm my diagnosis."

Naruto winced as Sakura's hands unintentionally dug into his shoulders as she held him down. "Um, guys? I feel fine. There might be a small problem, yeah, but there's no rush -- I'm not in any pain, and I've been dealing with this for several days with no ill effect."

"Naruto-kun," Sakura said, shaking her head sadly. "There are illnesses you don't always know about until they kill you. I'm not going to risk your life, so don't even think about trying to get up."

"It's not that serious, yet," Jiraiya said softly. "But I would like to perform an immediate check-up, to see how long we have to wait."

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Go ahead. Sakura won't rest until you do, and I doubt she'll let me get much rest, either. And not in a way I'd enjoy, either." A slight squeeze on his shoulders reminded him that, while she was his girlfriend, Sakura was perfectly capable of shattering his bones if he teased her too much.

Jiraiya knelt down in front of him and started examining the seal. Frowning, he said, "Mold some of the red chakra -- actually perform a technique, any technique, with it -- will you?"

"Uh, okay," Naruto said, then made a seal that he'd never seen before. A red stream started flicking its way around the room. Suddenly, Sakura squeeked, jumping slightly.

"Hey! What... how..."

"What happened?" Jiraiya said, looking up in surprise.

"He... well, um, he... pinched me," Sakura explained, blushing. "I think. I'm not sure... especially since he couldn't have done it with his hands. And perhaps pinch isn't the right word..."

Naruto chuckled. "Heh heh... remember, Sakura-chan... Perverted ninjitsu."

An odd expression quirked on her face. "Naruto... might I remind you that I just destroyed the arm of our mentor with one hand? And that I'm holding you down with two?"

The fox-like smirk on his face didn't change. "Oh, I know... but I'd hope you'd wait until I deserved it before doing something like that. That was a _very_ minor example of some of the things I've come up with, let me assure you."

A threatening squeeze on his shoulders accompanied her answer. "Naruto... I can't tell you anything about using them against anyone else, because there _may_ be a time and place for the use of your 'perverted ninjutsu' against certain individuals... but if you ever try and use them on _me _without at least warning me, first, you're going to wish that I only treat you the same way I just did Kakashi-sensei, got it?"

"Uh... right."

Deciding he'd been warned enough, she gave a slight smile and bent over to whisper in his ear. "Maybe one day, when we have some privacy, I'd be willing to volunteer to be a practice dummy for some of them, one day, though..."

Naruto flushed. "Um... I..."

He was saved from having to answer by Jiraiya, who had been conducting his examination the whole time that they had been 'flirting.' "Naruto... we have a small problem."

"What is it?" Sakura asked, suddenly frantic, before Naruto could answer.

"Nothing we can't handle," Jiraiya said hesitantly. "When Naruto tried to access the kyuubi's chakra, I saw what was going on. You were right -- it is like filling a water balloon while trying to plug a hole at the same time. There is a way to fix it, but... we'll need a volunteer."

"I'll do it," Sakura said vehemently.

Hana, who had been staying well away from the trio but remained close enough to hear what was being said, coughed. "You don't even know what you're volunteering for, Sakura-chan. Wait until he explains, first -- it might be something rather perverted, knowing him."

"I don't care," Sakura growled. "If it helps Naruto, I'll do it."

Opening and closing his mouth for a few moments, Jiraiya finally sighed. "Well... I guess you'll do. In fact, since I happen to know you two are engaged, it's probably just as well you're so willing..."

That Sakura didn't even react to finding out that Jiraiya knew about the engagement -- and had revealed it to Hana -- told Naruto just how panicked she was about him. He was touched, but he didn't want her doing anything rash for his sake. "If Sakura-chan might get hurt because of this," he said, "Then _I_ refuse."

"She won't get _hurt,_" Jiraiya sighed. "But she will be... changed."

"Changed how?" Naruto asked.

"I don't care," Sakura said. "Changed, hurt... killed. Naruto's life is on the line, right? I'll do anything to save him."

Jiraiya sighed. "The seal has been... damaged, and there is no way to truly repair it. There is, however, a way to turn the 'hole' into something else -- a 'link.' I can join the seal to another seal, on someone else, and some small part of the kyuubi can be 'shared' between Naruto and the other person... and there would no longer be a leak."

Sakura looked at Naruto, who seemed rather amazed but wasn't continuing to insist that she drop the idea right then and there. She grinned. "Well... I don't think I'd mind that."

* * *

"Kakashi-san," Iruka sighed as he watched a trainee medi-nin -- one of the administrative ninja Sakura was trying to teach basic medical ninjitsu to -- work on the silver-haired jounin-oyabun's arm. "I really don't understand what you even thought you might accomplish by saying that. Even if Sakura-chan hadn't... intervened, I don't know what you were expecting to get from Naruto."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, you have to understand something -- I had no idea it would effect Naruto-kun like that. I haven't been able to watch him deal with that tragedy, nor did any of the people I talked to mention that he's been so hurt by the incident."

"Still," Iruka sighed. "Why did you even mention it? I knew you were intending to debrief him on his time in charge, but I thought you'd be pulling out his amateur mistakes and things like that -- not going after things which we all know he had no control over."

"He... didn't exactly make amateur mistakes, from what I've been able to read," Kakashi sighed. "A few of his decisions were questionable -- for example, bringing a brothel into a ninja village or assisting the Rainbow in thier war with the Grass -- but they were just that: Questionable. Meaning his reasons might actually stand up to scrutiny, if asked. I'll admit, I haven't read all of the reports, yet, but what I have been able to read seems to indicate he ran a tight ship. That, and the people here like him in charge..."

"Which brings me back to the question of just what you were attempting to accomplish," Iruka reminded him.

There was a long pause. Kakashi gestured to the medi-nin, who was just finishing up, and waited until they were alone in the room. "The moment we arrived in Blossom, I sent word to Konoha that I had returned. I recieved a message back in reply, containing orders..."

* * *

"This... could get a little awkward," Jiraiya said, looking from Sakura to Naruto and back.

Hana, deciding to look after the young couple's best interest for them, stepped in front of him. "Just how awkward? You aren't going to be requiring that Sakura strip or anything, are you?"

Jiraiya flushed. "Of course not! Well... not completely. After all, she's a couple years too young for my tastes..."

"Hey!" Sakura protested.

Jiraiya coughed. "While this process might be... simpler, if you and Naruto were nude, all it requires is that you both expose your bellybuttons... and, um, try to get them to touch each other as close as possible."

Sakura stared at him blankly, while Naruto blushed like no tomorrow. "Er," he stammered. "T-touch? Touch bellybuttons? Uh... uh... how would you even _do_ that?"

Flushing faintly, Sakura took charge. She reached across and unzipped his jacket. "I'll figure it out," she said, reaching slightly into his pants to untuck his shirt and lift it up enough to expose his stomach -- including the needed bellybutton. She untucked her own shirt to expose her entire abdomen and lay down perpendicularly over Naruto. "Um... this is about as good as we're going to get. Start... doing whatever it is you need to do, got it?"

Having just been a witness to what she could do when angry, Jiraiya did not hesitate to follow her orders. He formed a few hand seals, summoning some chakra to his fingertips. Wordlessly, he slammed the five fingers into Sakura's exposed back. Hana, observing the event, had to look away at the explosion of light... but Naruto and Sakura's combined screams were hard to ignore. They didn't sound quite... human, although the animal-like roars they were shouting apparently didn't attract the attention of anyone outside of the room. Hana couldn't see how not, but then remembered that no-one had come in when Kakashi screamed, either... which probably meant that, for one reason or another, there was no-one within shouting distance of the room. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen a soul since she got within eyesight of the administrative builting -- a rather odd thing, since Blossom was starting to thrive, and so its populace was often out and about even in more 'official' places like that.

Finally, the light show was over. Sakura rolled over, turning to cuddle up to Naruto as they both seemed to know that the experience was done. They were breathing very heavily, and Naruto seemed to have passed out, but niether seemed hurt. However, there was something odd about Sakura's appearance...

It took Hana a few moments to notice. The seal, which she had managed to see a couple of times on Naruto during the months that they had been working together and training together, was now visible on both Naruto and Sakura's stomach. The seal on the boy who had been the kyuubi's container since his birth, however, seemed to be fading as it always did... but the new seal was not. It took Hana a moment to realize that it wasn't fading, and she immediately looked concerned.

"Was this... side-effect expected?" she asked softly, hoping not to disturb the couple. They both appeared to have passed out after moving to hold each other, and she didn't want to wake them. Sakura, however, stirred.

"What... what side-effect?" she asked weakly. Her eyes were barely open, but she seemed to be awake enough to talk.

"Several have appeared," Jiraiya sighed, explaining to the younger of the two girls while allowing the elder to listen in. "A couple of them I was expecting. You passing out, for example, doesn't surprise me -- this kind of seal technique has rarely been done, but when it has it always drains most of the energy out of the participants. You should both recover quickly, however, and none of the other side effects I thought might occur should last for very long. There is one I wasn't expecting, however."

"What is it?" she asked.

Hana coughed. "Um... look at yourself."

She cracked her eyes open enough to focus on her surroundings, and looked down at the exposed part of her midriff. It took her a few moments before she recognized what it was. "Oh..."

"Naruto still has his, of course," Jiraiya coughed. "But his is fading from sight, as it always does when he isn't actively molding chakra. Yours... is staying visible, at least so far. You'll have to bear this mark for the rest of your life, I fear."

A small smile appeared on her face. In a small voice, the lilt in it making her sound slightly intoxicated, she whispered, "Cool. His mark... proof that I'm his... and that he's mine, too, I suppose. I will wear it with pride..."

That thought finally out of her lips, she collapsed into sleep.

"Well," Jiraiya started to say, not noticing. "That seal isn't just used for Naruto -- it's actually the remains of the technique used--"

"Shh," Hana said. "Let her sleep."

* * *

Sakura 'awoke' inside a set of dusky, torchlit catacombs. She had never been in any place that resembled this, before, and she woke in an odd way, as well -- she was already standing by the time she'd become aware of her own consciousness. She knew she wasn't asleep, either, because she'd pinched herself the first moment she could, as suspicions had set in right away. However, she was fairly convinced she wasn't in the real world, either.

She felt herself being drawn down the seemingly endless hallways until she came to a larger chamber... outside of a sizable jail cell. A jail cell large enough to fit... well, some sort of creature taller then the trees, anyway. She hadn't seen many in her life, but she knew there were a few out there -- most of which were summoned by ninja's. This looked even larger then what would be necessary to imprison the Slug Lord (well, Lady... at least, Sakura assumed Katsuya was a female) she'd seen Tsunade summon all of once while conducting a demonstration of the technique. She stepped towards it, awe on her face, until she noticed something -- in place of a proper lock, there was a paper seal holding the doors closed. And there was something moving on the other side of the bars.

"Who's there?" she demanded, putting more courage into her voice then she really felt.

"Ah, it's you," a raspy voice growled. The thing moved closer, although it was still hard to make out many features. A wall of Reddish-brown fur was all Sakura could see of it... but that was enough to make a pretty good guess that this was the kyuubi. "Once I realized what needed to happen for you humans to repair my prison, I suspected you would become my second jailor, Mate of Naruto."

Sakura blushed. "We... we aren't mates yet," she pointed out. "Although I suppose it's only a matter of time, assuming we live long enough."

"You will," the kyuubi laughed, his loud growls echoing all through the catacombs -- and Sakura's head. "I swore an oath to that boy -- if he ever took a woman I approved of as his mate, I would protect he and his own forever, even should our seal be broken. You are one of those few I approve of... and, I suppose, it was just as well. The boy would have died, taking me with him, before even considering an alternative."

"How do you intend to protect me from in there?" Sakura asked. "I'm certainly not letting you out."

"_You_ can't," the demon growled. "Only the boy can -- at least, only he can from inside this world. But no... I will protect you as I have protected the boy. I will heal you when you are hurt, and give you chakra when you need it. I suppose I might even be able to help you fight on occasion, as I do the boy when he calls me out... but I'm not even certain I can. Your children will be able to, however... your 'bloodline ability' in action, even if it isn't really _me_ fighting alongside them, but rather their... you call them 'overlay personas.' If the need arises, I will attempt to act, however. And the boy, my... my _master,_ will always defend you."

She could hear the venom as the kyuubi said the word 'master,' but she found herself trusting the demons words nonetheless. "I... thank you, I guess."

"Know this, Mate," the kyuubi snarled. "I care nothing for your thanks. I am not human, and do not have a human's needs. I don't require your gratitude in order to do what I feel must be done. I do, however, expect other things from you. You must... I believe the word is 'train' with the boy. Learn how to use my powers, as he has. Learn the techniques he uses that I benefit him with the most. And... I know you are a healer, Mate. Never use my strength to heal anyone but the boy -- you can use my strength to support you while you drain yourself of your own, but to use my strength for most of your healing ways would affect the both me and the person you use my strength on poorly, unless they are already prepared for me like the boy -- and now you, yourself -- are."

"I will remember this," Sakura promised.

"Good," the kyuubi sighed. "Now... I find your presence bothersome in this form. You are a much more pleasant site to look at through the boys eyes. Rejoin your world, Mate... we will speak again."

* * *

"So," Hana began as she accompanied Naruto and Sakura through the hospital hallways while they made their way to Kakashi. Jiraiya returned to his home, citing 'exhaustion,' but Hana was curious about everything that had happened that day. Kakashi had said something about trying to provoke Naruto, but she wanted to know why and what he was planning to gain from it. Hana figured Jiraiya was just going off somewhere to peep on girls or something, since she was the one who had just returned literally from a war earlier that day and she wasn't even winded. The couple had awoken at almost the exact same moment Jiraiya left, fully recharged. Sakura, in fact, felt more chakra running through her then she ever had in her life, and all evidence of Naruto's health problem were gone. They had decided to try and find Kakashi, and to actually heal him, before he decided to run off to Konoha for the treatment after all. "When were you going to let people know that the two of you are engaged?"

"We weren't," Sakura sighed. "And I still won't, if you'll help keep the secret. Naruto asked me on my birthday, so I told him 'yes, but not yet.' I'm not sure when I want to get married, but it isn't now, so..."

"So, you want to keep it a secret so that people like me don't keep bugging you about when you two plan to set the date," Hana finished for her. "I understand completely -- one of my cousins had the same problem, only she was forced into an early marriage with her beaux so that she didn't trigger a certain clause in our clan's bylaws which might have forced her into an arranged marriage, otherwise. Considering the Haruno clan's own internal structure and the fact that Naruto is the last of his clan--"

"For now," Sakura muttered under her breath. For some reason, that seemed important to her -- that Naruto not be the last of his clan. She wasn't ready for children, yet, obviously, but she would be the one to ensure that he wasn't.

"--I don't think you'll have that problem."

"Sakura-chan, er, wasn't that the room we were supposed to be going to that we just passed?" Naruto asked.

Sakura blushed. "Oh, yeah. Let's go."

Kakashi's eyes widened as the trio entered his recovery room, and Iruka immediately stood in front of him. "If you're here to follow up on your prior attack," Iruka said. "Please allow Kakashi-sama the opportunity to explain himself, first."

"I'm not here to attack him," Sakura laughed. "I'm going to fix him up, instead. Sorry, sensei, but I think I lost my head there for a moment. I would like to hear what you were thinking, though."

"I wasn't, obviously," Kakashi sighed as Sakura started gently probing his injured arm. "Ow!"

"Sorry, sensei," Sakura apologized, her face not showing any sincerity. "You may not have been thinking, but you surely had some sort of motivation for attacking my... for attacking Naruto like that, right?"

"Um, yes," Kakashi said, looking at her nervously. "I was acting under orders."

Sakura paused in her examination. "Orders? Whose orders?"

"When I arrived in Blossom -- and after figuring out just where the hell everyone was from a rather drunken sannin who was _supposed_ to be on watch -- I sent word to the hokage about my return. I immediately recieved a letter in response: There were odd rumors coming to Konoha about something resembling the kyuubi appearing all over these region. I was to provoke Naruto's anger and see if there was any hint that the seal was at all slipping."

An audible crack was heard as Sakura worked on his arm. "I'm sorry," she said politely. "The trainee medi-nin who healed your wound also started setting your bone, but he set it wrong and I had to re-break it. So, you acted merely on these rumors?"

"Er," Kakashi hesitated, sweating slightly. "No. I was going to ignore it, but then word came in from your little action in Rainbow about how a 'kyuubi attack' had lead to much of the Grass ninja surrendering without a fight. Based on that, I felt there might be some truth to these rumors, and felt duty-bound to at least make the attempt. I was trying to get Naruto angry, not upset..."

"But my attack was the first time I'd ever tried that technique," Naruto protested. "And where else would I have used it? I've been stuck here, doing your job, for the past several months."

"I can confirm that he's been here the whole time," Hana agreed.

"Perhaps... perhaps there is a second kyuubi?" Iruka suggested tentatively.

There was an uncomfortable pause as they all considered that possibility before Sakura shook her head. "Not possible. There has only ever been one kyuubi."

"And how would you know?" Iruka asked. "I don't know that for certain, and I was taught about the kyuubi as a child. Knowledge of that particular creature has been restricted from you students since... well, since it was sealed inside of Naruto."

Sakura lifted her shirt slightly. "Let's just say I've got a pretty reliable source for information on him."

Iruka and Kakashi both stared at the newly exposed seal until Sakura started getting embarrassed and shoved her shirt back down. That shook them both out of there stupor. "So... when did that happen?" Kakashi asked casually.

"Shortly after you were taken off to the hospital," Sakura explained. "A kinjutsu Naruto used during the mission damaged the seal so that it risked both his and kyuubi's life. A... well, I suppose you could call it a 'release valve' was needed, and... um, I volunteered."

"Interesting," was all Kakashi would say.

"Actually," Iruka said, "I'm more interested in just where those kyuubi rumors are coming from."

A horrible suspicion came to Hana's mind. "Kakashi-sama... just who gave these orders?"

"That was why I was initially suspicious," Kakashi said. "The orders did not come from the hokage, but from the leader of the council."

Naruto stared at him blankly, but Hana already knew what had happened and was quietly cursing to herself. "Kakashi-sensei... who is the head of the council?"

"Traditionally," Kakashi sighed. "We use the head of the most populous -- though not necessarily the most powerful -- clan in Konoha. Coincidentally, both are the same at this time, as the Hyuuga clan is currently the most populous clan in Konoha. Hiashi Hyuuga has been running the private training facilities for their clan, so the clan matriarch is ruling in his stead."

Sakura took a deep breath, shaking her head. "Damn... is this because of Hanabi?"

Something about the way she said that caught Kakashi's attention. "Hanabi-chan? What's wrong with Hanabi-chan?"

"I guess you didn't read all of my reports, huh?" Naruto sighed.

"I've only gotten through most of the missions as well as the information about your handling of the financial crisis -- nice work on that, by the way. I was sort of stuck in a quandary about how to solve that one. I'd have liked to have done what you did, but, well... I didn't exactly have the chance."

"So none of the reports about current events in Konoha have reached your ears?" Sakura asked.

"No," Kakashi admitted.

"The Hyuuga clan is involved in a civil war," Hana explained, deciding to summarize things for expediency's sake. "There are three factions. The current head of the council -- the woman who only goes by the name of 'Hyuuga-sama,' and who is the matriarch of their clan, has defied Tsunade's orders by recalling all of her clan she believes may be sympathetic to thier cause. Naruto directly intervened, pursuing Hanabi when she left the village and persuading her to remain here... as her father, the head of one of the factions, and Hinata-chan, the head of the third, as well as the hokage, requested. So far, Tsunade-sama is able to prevent fighting in the streets, but it seems as if it is only a matter of time. Hyuuga-sama blames Naruto for Hanabi's defiance."

"Crap," Kakashi sighed, leaning back in his chair and flexing his mostly healed arm. Sakura had been working the entire time they had been talking, and he'd barely noticed... well, he'd barely noticed since his arm had been re-broken, that is. "She was laying a trap, wasn't she?"

"Seems like it," Sakura sighed. "Naruto.. if this civil war hasn't resolved itself by the end of our year's service here, we aren't returning to Konoha."

"I know," Naruto sighed.

Kakashi grinned slightly. "That shouldn't be so bad, should it? If Hana-chan and Sakura-chan's behavior is any indication, you seem to have a bit of a loyal following around here... and it seems as if you've got a good handle on things around here. You did a pretty good job, actually, as the chief."

"Better then you did!" Naruto exclaimed.

"But now that I've learned what I needed to from my small folly in attempting to anger you," Kakashi said, flexing his arm once again. "Perhaps it is time we had a real debriefing, now..."

* * *

Notes: I said this chapter would have a 'partial' explanation of what's been going on during my preview last chapter. The part I explained was his odd behavior towards Naruto. The part I hid, in case you missed it, was any explanation for the odd financial situation Naruto found himself in when he took control. That explanation does come... but not until much later in the story, by which time most people in Blossom have forgotten all about it. It's too fresh in everyone's minds, right now, despite what's been going on lately. It's years away, fic time... sorry. (The mystery involves the incident which concludes Volume 3, so the revelation is going to be very near that end. I figure we're somewhere between two thirds to three quarters of the way through this volume, and I'm talking last two or three chapters, here.)

There have been one or two suggestions that were downright frighteningly close to my intended 'joining' of Sakura to the seal. I have intended this 'joining' for quite some time, however. To prove I've been planning this all along and I was NOT drawing too heavily from my readers for ideas, I'll point out that I'd commissioned a piece of fan-art (from someone whose handle is Cambria-chan) which has been delivered, is visible on a certain NaruSaku centric forum, and will be uploaded to my user pagehere some time in the next few chapters. It was supposed to coincide with Sakura's eighteenth birthday chapter, as I pulled the fanart request from that chapter, but I may decide to post it sooner. That the kyuubi seal would be on Sakura's belly was the biggest spoiler that picture would include, but there is another minor one which is set that chapter, so I am a bit reluctant. And, believe it or not, Sakura's eighteenth isn't supposed to be THAT far away, chapter-wise. We're about to have a bit of a time skip which should make progress towards that pretty quick. I'll let you know when I upload that pic to my profile -- especially if I do it sooner, rather then later.

Before I start getting complaints about Jiraiya's dereliction of duty being out of character, just as I received complaints about Kakashi from last chapter before I'd had a chance to explain, I would like to point out that this is the start of a subplot involving him. Things aren't all what they seem with him, either. Of course, I WISH I didn't have to mention things like this, but since some people don't seem to get thatcharacters acting unexpectedly may have a reason for acting that way, I figure I have to mention it.

Next Chapter: The chuunin exam approaches, and it is time for the genin to prepare to head out. But who will be allowed to take the test, and who will not?


	39. V3 Chapter 29

Volume 3

Notes: Minor clarification -- to my mind, the council is one organization, and the advisors (the Third's former teammates) are another, in the administration of Konoha. The hokage is the executive branch, the council is the legislative branch. In theory, they're equal in power, so a conflict between them could be pretty serious, but just like in real life scenarios, not necessarily so serious that the country cannot function. Blossom is an ancilliary power of Konoha, but is under the direct administrative control of the hokage -- Kakashi COULD have ignored the orders from the council with no legal repercussions, and was planning to, until he heard about kyuubi's appearance in Rainbow and figured there might be something worth investigating after all... and, if he ignored those orders, he might be LEGALLY covered, but he likely would have ruined his career in Konoha should the council ever find out. Remember, it was the council which prevented the Fourth from marrying Anko, so it does have considerable power, and so ignoring its orders -- especially when they might be right about something -- is not a good idea.

Final words on the 'Golden Flash' vs. 'Yellow Flash' thing. I get bugged about this much more and I'll start calling him 'Blond Flash' just to tick people off. Warning, mild profanity: My view on the two names goes something like this. Suppose I lived in a country which spoke madituponese. I write about a great hero in this language, whose strength was so legendary that it was said he could bear the whole weight of a laden donkey. He is given a great nickname to honor this achievement, which he uses often. Someone translates his story into English... and we are stuck with the legendary 'Ass Whole.' To me, giving the Fourth the name 'Yellow Flash' is the same as giving that man the name 'Ass Whole,' as in the part of the country I grew up a 'yellow flash' was a coward who ran from everything. It means something COMPLETELY different in the two different languages, so something really should be done to fix it. 'Blond Flash' sounds silly (as, say, 'Donkey Whole' would), but 'Golden Flash' ain't half bad, and it carries the spirit behind his name better then what either name would mean in English. That said, I will use the too literal 'Yellow Flash' translation you people are insisting upon, but I refuse to like it.

Were the 'kyuubi sightings' a lie made up by the Hyuuga? Um... probably. After all, there's only one kyuubi, and we know where he's been, so if there WAS anything they were seeing, it wasn't the kyuubi. So... either the Hyuuga are making it all up, or there's something being seen that has been confused for the kyuubi. I won't say which it is, however, because the story has yet to say either way (and it may be one of those things that get left up to the reader's interpretation -- just fair warning, there). Something I'm not sure anyone caught: The Administrative building and the surrounding area had been evacuated prior to Kakashi 'provoking' Naruto, so obviously SOMEONE (Kakashi) thought there was something to those rumors -- especially after hearing the news from Rainbow. But suspicion, alone, wasn't proof in his case. If the Hyuuga were taking a rumor and embellishing on it to make it more believable (in their eyes), then perhaps they might even think there was SOMETHING to the rumors when there isn't, even if it is not what they're claiming they think it to be.

About Arashi's family name as it appears on the toad scroll... sorry. I had bad data. Notice I haven't had anyone use the name 'Arashi' since then. I used 'Arashi' in the first place as it appeared to be fanon for the Fourth's first name, not because of the scroll -- I am terrible at coming up with names, myself, and that is one of the few sorts of things I will intentionally go along with when it comes to fanon (I take names from where I can get them, I'm so bad at it... I'm not 100 percent certain that I didn't accidentally give any of my original male characters feminine names, or my original female characters masculine names). If his name on the scroll is really 'Kazama Arashi' (is it Kazama or Kazana? Kazana would make a LOT more sense to me, given some of the naming conventions Kishimoto has used in the past), and that really is where the fanon originated, then perhaps I should reconsider that name, or at least add some back story as to why it would be 'Kazama' and not 'Uzumaki' Arashi (that might be more interesting, in fact, and would genuinely fit in with the storyline as it is now) that he signed on the scroll. This is still a 'to be decided' situation.

For the record, Kakashi does **NOT** have the mangekyou sharingan in this fic, as he appears to have in the latest chapter of the manga. Urgh, Kishimoto better have a whale of an explanation for that one...

Does anyone think I should pay any attention to a reviewer who uses the handle 'i hate you' and whose review consists of 'you are such a bad writher this is worse than nothing!How can Kakashi and Jirayta act like that!THink before you write sucker!' beyond, well, posting it here for everyone to laugh at? No? Didn't think so. (How does someone like that expect to get taken at all seriously, anyway?) Thanks for the giggles, Mr. 'i hate you,' and have a wonderful day!

* * *

Chapter 29

"I'm still not entirely clear how you can access kyuubi's chakra on demand, like you do," Sakura sighed, towelling off after a long training session. "I'm only getting an inconsistent trickle most of the time I call on it, unless I'm out of my normal chakra."

"Simple," Naruto said, accompanying her as they left the gymnasium. This had been the sixth week of their training following her acquisition of part of the kyuubi, and the sixth week that Sakura had managed to do more to him during thier sparring sessions because of the 'distractions' she was constantly presenting him then all of his other sparring partners in Blossom combined. Sakura had taken to constantly wearing halter-tops and other shirts that exposed her midriff -- and the seal -- to any interested viewers... and Naruto was always interested. She said it was to show her 'mark of pride,' but Naruto wondered if it might be more than that. "I can do it because I won't take no for an answer. That, and I don't need it any more... my own natural chakra actually equals his, normally."

"I noticed," Sakura shot back wryly. "So how do I go about even getting 'no' from him, anyway? I've already chatted with him -- a couple times, in fact -- just like you said to. He hasn't said 'no,' yet, but I still can't access any chakra until I'm drained."

"It's probably you, then," Naruto mused. "I bet you're just telling yourself you don't have that much chakra, and so you refuse to even try and draw that much together for any technique. Happened to me, once or twice, back when I was learning my summoning techniques."

"Tsunade-shishou was trying to teach me that," Sakura thought. "I never was able to draw enough chakra together to summon a combat-ready slug, though... just little ones which aren't useful for much other then spy work. I have the technique down, though, so maybe I could try again."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Erm... I suggest you not try learning how to pull that much chakra together the way ero-sennin taught me how to."

"Oh?" Sakura asked, amused. "What method was that?"

"Erm... he took me to my favorite restaurant, tried to get me to hug my favorite girl -- who pounded the living daylights out of my, by the way..."

"Sorry," Sakura laughed.

"And then tossed me off a cliff."

She winced. "Succeed or die trying, huh? Ouch. If I'd known, even then, I would have let you hug me. Then I'd kick your ass for it once you turned up alive the next day."

"_I_ didn't even know until I was about to be tossed off the cliff," Naruto pointed out. "And I was in the hospital for three days, afterwards. So how--"

"Ah, here you are Naruto-sam... er, Naruto-sempai," Daichi said from the doorway. "Kakashi-sama said he has a job for you, Sakura-sempai, and Ino-sempai."

Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other in surprise. They had been left much to their own devices since his return, mostly to train and teach, as the hospital had not required Sakura's services except as a teacher and Kakashi had suggested that Hanabi keep her job, depriving Naruto of the office work he'd grown accustomed to. Coming after the... incident... which had occured on his return, they had been a little suspicious -- niether of them believed their former sensei was vindictive, nor did they think he'd believed the rumors the Hyuuga were trying to spread about the kyuubi (at least, they hoped they were just rumors. If it was something else, they were a bit afraid of what that might mean). After discussing it over dinner one night, they came to the conclusion that he had some job in mind that he was saving them for. As the weeks went by, this was seeming less and less likely... but, perhaps, this was what they had been waiting for.

Daichi joined the young couple as they made thier way to the administrative building. Much to their surprise, the entire class of genin and their instructors were waiting for them as they entered the office.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, Naruto, you're here," Kakashi said tiredly. "Eh... sit down, please. We still need to wait for Ino-chan."

"Is this some kind of mission?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Not one that you'll be a part of," Kakashi answered. "But I do need your help to prepare for it."

Ino ran in, panting slightly. "Sorry I'm late."

"That's okay," Kakashi said. "Take a seat, and we'll get down to business."

"Certainly," Ino said, but then blinked. All of the seats were taken. "On second thought... I think I'll stand."

Sakura grinned, standing up. "Oh, you can have my seat, Ino-chan," she said, before slipping into Naruto's lap. "I'll just share."

Ino laughed. "Sure thing, Sakura-chan."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. While it had been fairly obvious that Sakura and Naruto were dating since before he left Blossom to hunt Sasuke, they hadn't been anywhere near that close to each other. It was still strange, for him, seeing them act that way... and he wondered, vaguely, if the sharing of kyuubi had anything to do with it. He made a mental note to keep an eye on them, just to make sure that the beast wasn't influencing them inappropriately.

"Let's begin, shall we?" he said, putting that aside for later. "As you are all well aware, we have been preparing our genin for the chuunin exam since we arrived here. We were expecting to be able to send them off to Konoha in a couple months time to take that exam." He paused. "Unfortunately, the situation in Konoha makes sending our genin there... politically impossible. There is a civil war going on with several of the clans -- some of whom are represented here, in this very room -- and, while that civil war hasn't devolved into open combat, there have been reports of assassination attempts, thefts, vandalism, and other signs of disorder. The hokage sent me instructions saying that Konoha could not necessarily provide the appropriate atmosphere for the test, and therefore recommends we take alternate measures."

"What sort of alternate measures?" Naruto asked. "Are we going to hold our own chuunin exam?"

"Not possible," Kakashi sighed. "None of the other ninja villages would recognize it if we did. However, Konoha isn't the only nation that hosts a chuunin exam. Over the past six weeks, I have been requesting access to the other two major centers which hold a chuunin exam. Today, I recieved my only reply. In ten days, the Cloud are sponsoring their own exam -- they recognize Blossom as a seperate entity from Konoha. They will not allow Konoha to participate in their exam, and have not for almost seventy years, just as Konoha has forbidden them from participating since they attempted to assassinate the First... but they have agreed to, as a first-time entry village, allow us to enter one team in their exam as if we were a true neutral power. That team will be under heavy escort whenever practical, but outside of that may have the same access that any other neutral power participating in the chuunin exam has."

That brought everyone to attention -- especially Ebisu and Aoba, who both had been around when the Cloud and Konoha were a step away from war more than once, and Hanabi, whose clan had more bad dealings with the Cloud then any other. Immediately, she stood up. "As a Hyuuga, I... I would have to withdraw from any such exam," she said. "They have already framed my father -- necessitating the execution of my uncle -- in order to obtain out clan's secrets. It would not be wise for me to give them another such opportunity."

Futaba gaped at her teammate. "Hanabi-chan! But..."

"It is your decision, Hanabi-san," Kakashi said, nodding to the girl. "And that is a sound reason. However, it may be some time before a different test would become available for you to take."

Hanabi swallowed. "Even if I have to remain a genin forever... I will not allow the secrets of my clan to fall into the Cloud's hands."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, considering her for a moment, before turning back to Kakashi. "So, how are we going to decide which team goes and which doesn't?"

"That will be your job," Kakashi explained. "I'm putting this whole mess in your lap. It will be your job to figure out which three of the _nine_ genin we have go to this chuunin exam. Remember how important both teamwork and individual performance is in it. It will be up to you whether you send in a complete team as it is or you mix and match. Then, since I'll have more need of you here then in Cloud, it will be your job to determine which jounin instructor will be leading them -- and please remember the job of the jounin instructor will not be to fight, but to train. The best teacher of these jounin may not necessarily be the best fighter."

Naruto huffed. "Yeah, yeah, I know all that."

"You say you 'know all that,' now, but you haven't always," Kakashi pointed out. "I seem to recall you being very upset that I wouldn't teach you, at one time. The truth is I suck as a teacher when it comes to advanced training -- one of the reasons I was concentrating on Sasuke that time was that his sharingan would allow him to learn from me at a reasonable pace. I arranged for a better teacher to train you... even if that teacher isn't my equal in combat."

Ebisu shifted uncomfortably, but nodded his head in acknowledgement. Naruto, however, just shrugged. "Yeah, I figured that out after a while. Ero-sennin is a powerful ninja, but he's been pretty crappy about giving me enough instruction to master the techniques he gives me. I spent probably half my training trip with him just learning how to fix the holes in his lessons. Although if I'd stuck with the closet pervert, I might have learned more but I never would have been able to beat Gaara."

"Yeah, you would have, Naruto-kun," Sakura whispered to him.

Naruto shifted slightly, not entirely comfortable with his own thought on the matter. "I might have," he whispered back. "But the only other way I could have would have been to use the hokage no jutsu."

Sakura winced, and decided not to pursue that topic any more.

Kakashi decided after a minute that he'd given everyone enough time to talk about his news and decided to end it. "Are there any more questions?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "How long do we have?"

"Well, the test begins in ten days," Kakashi calculated, rubbing his mask-covered chin in thought. "But Cloud is actually much closer to us then Blossom, so any team would be able to make in in two days. They would want at least one day to rest, however, so everything should be decided in no more then one week's time. Is that sufficient?"

"I'll make it work, somehow," Naruto replied with determination.

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah. Are we going to continue running missions while this is going on?" Aoba asked.

"The jounin trackers who joined me in Operation Pursue Sasuke have remained here to pick up some of the slack while this process is ongoing. This will free up the genin teams for the next week while still maintaining a portion of our usual income. They will also be substituting for Sakura, Naruto, and Ino's teaching positions in the Academy, and filling in for some other duties as well. Once the exam is complete, those jounin will be returning to Konoha, but in the meantime we could actually handle higher-rated missions then normal. Anything else?"

Naruto frowned. "Yeah," he said. "What is Cloud getting out of this?"

Kakashi sighed. "Our charter indicates that Blossom will accept applications for genin teams to join us from any nation not on hostile terms with Konoha. Cloud has recently signed various treaties of neutrality, and therefore they desire to test this charter by requiring that, when we expand the number of genin teams as we plan to do following the Academy graduation, we accept one of theirs."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Naruto said. "I wouldn't have accepted that condition."

"Oh?" Kakashi replied, raising an eyebrow curiously. "And what would you have done, instead?"

"Something _other_ than compromise our security," came the heated reply. "Perhaps I would have seen if Sand Country would be willing to judge a private chuunin exam for us. Or I would have negotiated a different deal."

"Well," Kakashi said, leaning back in his chair. "What's done is done. While your ideas might have worked, they might not have... and, at the very least, you would have missed this opportunity for sending participants to a chuunin exam. I've already made an agreement with the Cloud, and it is too late to go back on it."

Naruto was about to let his temper go and start arguing with the silver-haired ninja, but Sakura sensed it coming before he could. She used her position to reach out and sooth him, saying, "Relax, Naruto-kun. Remember, you aren't in charge, now... this is Kakashi-sensei's command. You might disagree with him, but you've already made your point and he's rejected your arguments, so it is our job to make sure that his decisions -- whether they are mistakes or not -- work."

He turned his attention to her. "But--"

"No buts," she said.

Naruto looked frustrated, but in the end nodded. He sat there, relaxing with Sakura in his arms, and sighed.

"Now," Kakashi said. "Are there any other questions, or can we finally wrap this up?"

* * *

Blossom's three chuunin were having dinner together in Naruto's apartment -- theoretically to discuss the plans for the next chuunin exam. It was turning out quite different, however.

"Well," Ino said, nibbling from her bowl of ramen. It was a home-made ramen, complete with fresh ingredients, and not an instant... which meant it was actually pretty good. "I haven't seen much of you two since... well, since your birthday party, Sakura-chan."

"We have all been pretty busy," Sakura admitted. "First, there was the war. Then you had that ambassadorial mission which kept you busy all of last month. Then... well, there were a lot of people who didn't quite realize that Naruto-kun wasn't the one in charge any more, and I've been 'playing secretary' for a while. I think in a democracy, Naruto would be elected over Kakashi, at least hear in Blossom."

"I've heard a lot of people -- some of them recalling even his time in Konoha -- who say he's a terrible leader," Ino replied. "They point to the fact that he'd lost his original teammates within a couple months of taking command of them, then he struggled in ANBU -- although like with every other ANBU agent his past there is classified -- and then... well, there was the whole thing with Sasuke leaving us -- some people blame him for that. In all honesty, I haven't been too impressed either way with how he's handled me since I joined your team. Those rumors have been compounded by his poor leadership here, where he'd successfully driven us into the financial ground until Naruto-dono took charge, to the point where I've heard a few people muttering about having him 'sent away on another long mission.' But let's not talk about that now -- politics, especially when it involves people you know personally, can get rather depressing."

Sakura frowned. She wanted to refute everything Ino was saying about her teacher, but... but she couldn't think of a since reply. Oh, sure, the Sasuke thing wasn't his fault, but the other points... well, she really didn't know enough about Kakashi's past to comment. And... well, he'd always basically ignored her, too, while she was under his command. All she needed to think of to know that was how under-prepared she was for the chuunin exam compared to just about every other ninja out there. Her teammates were, too, but at least they had been strong enough to fight through it... or at least, they had until Orochimaru showed up. Sasuke was essentially crippled by that attack, and Naruto... well, she'd learned from Jiraiya, while talking with him about her new seal, that Naruto's chakra had been messed up during that period. Not that she'd noticed it at all, considering how remarkable his endurance had been and how well he'd dealt with Kiba. Although he was rather slow in getting out his trademark shadow clones during the Kiba fight, now that she thought about it -- he'd always been able to pull them out in a flash, before and since.

Something occured to Sakura right then. Kakashi was qualified to be a hokage. He had the thousand techniques -- and then some, considering how many things he must have copied with his sharingan in the years following the official notice of that distinction. After the death of the Third, he was debatably the strongest ninja in Konoha outside of the rather unreliable Jiraiya. He was a legend, in his own right, and his IQ tests matched Shikamaru's, from what she'd heard. He'd had a lot of command experience, and was the perfect candidate to fill the void the Third left behind following his unexpected murder. Yet... Kakashi had not been asked. The rather unreliable Jiraiya, a known pervert and hermit, was asked instead. When Jiraiya had turned them down, he had been told that there was no-one else in Konoha who could do the job. But... why had niether the council nor the advisors thought to ask Kakashi? Could it be that he really _did_ have a reputation for bad leadership? If so... how much of that 'bad leadership' trait was responsible for him mangling his attempts to 'provoke' Naruto?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and sighed. "You're right, Ino-chan. Thinking about it so much _does_ get rather depressing."

"I think we need to catch up, a bit," Ino pointed out.

Sakura, knowing full well what the other girl was talking about, reached up and stroked her hair jokingly. "Oh, I know. I really need to get a haircut, don't I?"

"Actually, I like it this length," Naruto replied, seeing an opportunity to interject himself into the conversation so that he wouldn't feel quite so much like a third wheel. "Not too much longer, though, or you might have problems with people pulling your hair in a fight."

She glanced at Naruto in surprise, saying, "You do? I think it looks a little rough when it's this long."

"Wild, not rough," Naruto corrected, grinning fiercely. "I like you looking wild."

Something inside her tingled at the notion of her being 'wild.' "Hmm... wild, huh?"

Ino coughed, reminding the two of them that she was at the table, as well. "You guys can flirt later. You _know_ I wasn't talking about your hair, Sakura-chan."

"You weren't?" Sakura replied, feigning innocence. "Well, if it wasn't my 'wild' hairstyle, then what could you possibly be referring to?"

Ino sighed dramatically. "Look, forehead girl, we both know what I'm talking about, so spill. I know where I've seen that seal you've been flashing around town before, and I also know that the only person who should have it is Naruto-dono, here. So, where did it come from?"

"From Naruto-kun," Sakura replied, keeping up the facade.

"Look, you," Ino fumed. "I've been really nice to you for quite a while -- I haven't even once teased you about having gotten engaged, have I? I don't deserve the runaround."

Sakura laughed, but did look apologetic. "Sorry, Ino-chan. You're right -- you have been especially kind lately. Makes me wonder what you're setting me up for, actually."

Ino shrugged. "I think I'm just tired of all the games. We don't see as much of each other, any more, now that you're living with Naruto-dono again, and I'm just trying to keep the time we do spend together... civil enough for us not to lose any more of our time together squabbling like children."

_In other words, Ino-chan, we're growing up and we need to start acting like adults, huh?_ Sakura mused silently. "If we learn how to stop before we go too far, then I don't think there's anything wrong with the two of us teasing each other. After all, that is such a _huge _part of our past, I don't see it just going away..."

Ino grinned. "Perhaps not. But I'm not in the mood to be teased right now -- I want to know just what happened to give you that... uh, interesting design on your stomach, instead."

Sighing, Sakura decided to explain. "The seal was damaged when Naruto performed a kinjutsu during the Rainbow War. There was no risk of kyuubi escaping, but... well, it was sort of like 'internal bleeding' with his chakra system. The seal had to be patched up, but the only way to do it was to have a second person 'linked' to the seal. The damage has been fixed, now, and that kinjutsu shouldn't be a kinjutsu any more now that a permanent 'fix' has been made... although he's limited in using it only when I'm close by. The technique is a mid-combat teleportation technique, and now he can only use it to transport himself within a hundred yards of my location."

"Well, wouldn't that mean that, if you were even miles apart, he could use this technique to come to your side at a moment's notice?" Ino asked, puzzling it out.

"If she's out of my line of sight, I'd need some sort of beacon, but yeah... I suppose I could," Naruto interjected. "I haven't tried, yet, though."

"Well, that's enough shop-talk about this," Ino sighed, shaking her head. "But I want to know more about what it's like."

"I like 'shop-talk.' And aren't we supposed to be discussing the chuunin exam?" Naruto asked plaintively. He wasn't exactly all that enthusiastic about starting that rather boring project, but this girl talk was boring him.

"Well, it's not really 'like' anything special, I suppose," Sakura mused, ignoring him. "I've got a lot more chakra, but I haven't learned how to access it consistantly yet."

Ino frowned. "That's it? You can't read each other's minds, or know where each other are even in the dark, or anything like that?"

Sakura and Naruto glanced at each other in surprise. "Well, no... not that we've noticed," the pink haired girl replied.

"We can both talk to the kyuubi," Naruto pointed out, surprised he hadn't even thought about it. It made him wonder just what else he might not have thought of. "Maybe we could have him deliver messages for us, although I doubt he'd be very willing to help out that way."

Sakura laughed. "No, I don't think he'd like being a 'messenger boy' for us. Maybe in an emergency he would, though."

Ino frowned. "I don't exactly recall the kyuubi as being that friendly. Why would he be willing to protect the two of you?"

"Well, there's always self-preservation," Sakura pointed out. "If one of us dies... he does, too."

"True," Ino admitted, although she still got the feeling she was missing out on something. "At any rate, what you're saying is... you haven't really tried to see what this lets you do at all?"

Sakura blushed. "Well, I've been a bit busy, you know, and there are other things about this seal I'd rather learn, first..."

"Guys?" Naruto broke in. If there was one thing he'd rather not talk about, it was just how the kyuubi could effect Sakura. He'd been nervous enough about her taking on the responsibility -- and the disrespect others would heap upon her -- that containing the demon inside of her would bring. The question of what other changes her decision would cost her was definitely not one he felt comfortable discussing so casually. "This is kind of fun after all, but... is there any chance we could take care of business tonight? If not, I'll just leave you two to catch up."

Ino winced. The little bit of Naruto inside her finally made known just how uncomfortable it was, as well. She could only imagine how the real Naruto -- who had the full return of Sakura's love, finally -- would feel. "Er... right. Maybe we should take care of business first."

Sakura blinked, then shrugged. "If you want, sure. I'm not really sure what we could do... although maybe we should hold a mock exam of sorts."

Ino shuddered. "Sakura-chan... surely you remember just how bad our chuunin exam went, right? Would you really like to have to do that _twice?_ In a _row? _I sure wouldn't, even if it was a 'scaled down' version of the test."

"Well... maybe that would be a bit much," Sakura agreed, remembering just how painful the exam was for her and all of her friends. "Maybe just something which would help us evaluate their talent."

"A tournament," Naruto declared. "We can't explain the written part of the exam to them, and the survival test isn't practical considering we don't have anywhere to hold it that would be even remotely close to preparation for the test. But we can evaluate their one-on-one combat skills, and decide from that who is the best prepared."

"Combat skills alone are nothing," Sakura sighed. "Otherwise, I don't think any of the people who made it to the preliminary matches of our chuunin exam would have been held back, despite the exam being interrupted before the end."

"So... we'll get the jounin instructors in on things," Ino suggested. "Hana, Aoba, and Ebisu should all know their students pretty well. We'd ask for their recommendations, just as the hokage does in Konoha, and work from there."

"I know a number of them pretty well, myself," Naruto pointed out. "But yeah, I think they'd be useful."

Sakura shrugged. "Well... I guess that might work. They could be allowed to plead the case of their students. So, since we've only got about a week to do this all in, when should we have the tournament?"

"As soon as possible, of course," Ino replied. "They need to get there and have time to settle in, so as soon as possible."

Naruto frowned. "Uh, actually... I'd like a couple days, first."

"Why?"

"I just do," Naruto answered, avoiding the question.

Ino looked at him funny. She asked the Naruto inside of her just why he would need that extra time, but no answer was forthcoming. "I'd like to know before I agree with that. Why?"

He hesitated. "I need to work with one of the genin, first. Nothing that concerns you."

"Is it Konohamaru?" Ino asked. "You really shouldn't play favorites, here. You know that."

"No, it isn't him," Naruto replied. "He's got a good trainer, already. I'd slow him down."

"Hey," Sakura protested. "You're an excellent teacher -- I've learned a lot from you, already."

"Oh, I could teach him," Naruto agreed. "I'm better then ero-sennin... and _definitely_ better then Kakashi-sensei, when it comes to teaching. They'll admit as much. But the closet pervert specializes in teaching, and I couldn't put my full time into it like I should. No, Konohamaru doesn't need my help."

"Then who are you teaching?" Ino asked.

"Probably no-one," Naruto sighed. "Look, Ino-chan... just drop it, okay?"

"But--"

"Naruto-kun," Sakura intervened. "Why won't you tell us?"

"Because I haven't talked to them yet," he explained. "And they may want this kept secret."

"Okay," Sakura said. "I guess we'd better let you have your two days."

"But--" Ino protested.

"Ino-chan," Sakura said, turning to her oldest friend. "When Naruto was running this village... if he had said he needed to keep his reason for asking you to do something secret, wouldn't you still have done it?"

Ino blinked. "Uh... yeah. I guess so."

"That settles it, then," Sakura replied, grinning. "Naruto-kun is our leader, whether that's because he has the job or he doesn't. So, if he says it has to be kept secret for now, I'll trust him. What about you?"

There was a long pause before her answer finally came. "Two days it is, then."

* * *

Notes: Yeah, I'm late, and yeah, the last bit is crap. Too much forced dialogue, not enough action, I know, I know. And I fully expect a flood of angry e-mails from Kakashi fans for the 'he's a poor leader and a poor teacher' cracks I've made against him, but remember that's all perception.

His own perception, perhaps, when it comes to teaching -- in canon, he pawns Naruto off on Ebisu and claims that Ebisu is a better teacher -- and seemingly believes it himself -- so we know he doesn't think he's the best. That's a far cry from saying he's terrible at it, I know, but considering how improved Sakura became under a different teacher, and how improved Naruto became under Jiraiya (even just in Part One), I don't think it's too much of a stretch. It could be one of the reasons he's chased students off every time he's been offered them, before.

As far as being a bad leader goes... well, that's just a rumor, remember. There's a lot of evidence to back it up, yes, but... it isn't necessarily true (for that, I'll leave it up to you guys to decide). It's just how I figured the result of a village dealing with a changeover from a popular leader to somone who wasn't necessarily the most effective executive in their experience (given the budget crisis they faced) would act: 'Oh, we were lead so much better when Naruto was in charge.' 'I know. He's terrible at the job! I heard he lost his whole team his first mission as a jounin!' 'Really? I heard he left ANBU, once. I bet it was because he couldn't deal with the leadership role.' And so forth. Not necessarily true, but bad enough that they've reached the ears of certain people who actually work with them... who might be at a loss to explain just why they disagree, since they have no evidence to back themselves up. In other words, it's politics, it ain't fact.

Next Chapter: Naruto approaches one of the genin about the tournament. Possibly I'll get to the start of the tournament, too -- we'll see how long it takes to get things organized.


	40. V3 Chapter 30

Volume 3

Notes: Those of you who were saying I was too hard on myself for the last chapter, um... sorry, but I still view it as the worst chapter I've written for this fic, so far. For one thing, I blew the scene where Kakashi is reacting to Sakura sitting in Naruto's lap. I forgot a few words which changed the meaning slightly (obviously, he KNEW they'd become that close -- Sakura wouldn't have been QUITE so angry at him, otherwise; what I'd meant for him to say was that he just hadn't gotten used to it, yet). I was just trying, really, to indicate that he hadn't seen much of them in the six weeks since he left the hospital. I wound up saying something completely different -- that he'd been oblivious to their growing feelings.

Truth be told, I've been working through a bit of writers block, lately, which means I'm forcing some of my writing... which also means that I'll feel its crap, and it may or may not be crap, but it'll distract me regardless. So, I'll make little mistakes like that. Maybe I'll go back and try to fix it when this fic is completed, but in the meantime just realize that I may have to make minor corrections to previous chapters in authors notes. As I have once or twice in the past, if something is in serious need of revision and can be accomplished easily enough that it won't disrupt the continued writing, I'll try and fix it and just note that a correction has been made in the next chapter, but it's rare I think I can make such a correction without breaking my writing.

I had a lot of people encouraging me not to get too worked up about all the silly flamers who have been attacking me these last couple of chapters. Thanks, but I'm not too worried about them. I also enjoyed the encouragement about 'Golden Flash vs. Yellow Flash,' although I said that was my last word on the subject last chapter. I may re-re-consider and go with my original decision of 'Golden Flash,' after all, but I won't comment again either way until the next chapter I have to write about him. That won't be for quite a while, so by then things may have settled down. If there are people still very attached to the literal translation, go ahead and make your case... but please, take in mind the comments made both by myself and by the reviewers of the previous chapter (39, or volume 3 chapter 29 if you go by title) about the debate, first, okay? (In other words, read the reviews and my notes first before commenting, so that you don't repeat something already said or already countered).

Well, I guess that's that. On with the fic...

* * *

Chapter 30

"What are you _thinking, _not taking the chuunin exam?"

"I told you," Hanabi sighed. "It's in Cloud country, and my clan is hostile to Cloud country. They would kill me just to steal my eyes, if I went there -- just as they killed my uncle."

"Don't you want the promotion? I'm sure that Cloud wouldn't be able to attack you publically -- they have to know it would lead to a war with Konoha. As long as you were careful enough to avoid their trickery, I think you'd be okay."

"It's not that simple," the girl sighed. "The last time a Hyuuga was inside of Cloud, our clan was framed for a murder. The only way out of starting a war, then, was to sacrifice my uncle to them. He had to kill himself because they framed us, so... it isn't wise for us to go into their country unless... unless Konoha ever decides it wants to go to war with them."

"Which would probably be never, regardless of the provocation, given what I've heard about them. I mean, we haven't even launched a war against the Sound, and they killed off the hokage!"

"Er... technically, we _are_ at war with the sound. We just never launched an invasion," Hanabi pointed out.

"Oh, yeah? When was the last time the two countries fought a battle with each other?"

"Just under three years ago."

"And nothing has been done, since, has it? Not by _either_ side. Now, isn't that an odd form of warfare? Why are we just sitting back, letting Orochimaru plan and prepare himself to strike at Konoha _again,_ huh? That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard of..."

"Konoha is not in the business of revenge," Hanabi lectured. "At least... not officially. That is just the excuse we give other countries, to maintain our reputation as the most powerful of the five kage-level countries. I agree, it does seem pretty silly to just let him alone, if that was what we were doing... but you have to realize that there was no way to launch a counterattack, then. In order to organize a large enough force to really fight the Sound on their home turf, we would have had to leave our flank exposed to others... like, say, the Cloud, who would have been very happy to swoop in and wipe out a defenseless Konoha. The Sand had taken the brunt of the losses during the Sand-Sound war, and weren't really in any better shape then we were... not to mention there was no way we could have trusted them to _stay_ our ally after their initial betrayal. The situation may be... remotely better, now, but the internal politics of both Sand and Konoha are such that we can't exactly mount a large expeditionary force of the size needed to fight the Sound and not leave ourselves open to attack. But you know all this, right? I mean... surely Haruno-san has given you all the political lectures you need by now, right, Inari-chan?"

The boy grinned bitterly. "Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all. Still seems pretty sucky to me -- as near as I can tell, you guys aren't even keeping Orochimaru under surveillance, are you? Haruno-sensei doesn't think so, anyway, from what she was saying about how bad our intelligence has been against the Sound. Of course, I suppose you could have really good spies, after all, and just not want to let us Academy students know -- that would be smart -- but Konoha sure is doing everything in its power to seem pretty stupid in its dealings with the Sound."

"That's why I don't think I should even consider attempting the chuunin exam," Hanabi explained. "I think the Sound are a big enough threat that Konoha couldn't risk war, even if I was killed by the Cloud so blatantly. I think the Cloud know this, too, and so wouldn't be all that concerned about appearances... they'd just go ahead and kill me right out."

"Naruto-sensei wouldn't let them get away with it," Inari stated firmly. "If Konoha would hold back, I'm sure he would take Blossom into war with them."

Hanabi shook her head, sighing. "Inari-chan... Naruto-san couldn't do it. He's not in charge of Blossom any more -- in fact, _I_ outrank _him_ in the chain of command, now, although only on a technicality. And even if he could... really, what could Blossom do? We're only a couple dozen ninja in a start-up village, after all. Why would any kage-level power worry about us?"

"Naruto-kun took out the Grass single-handedly!" Inari pointed out. "He'd avenge you, I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure I'd appreciate that, too, after I was dead," Hanabi commented dryly. When the boy winced, she softened her tone slightly. "He won't have to, though, because I'm not going. If I don't go, they can't kill me, and he won't have to 'avenge me' after all."

"You shouldn't be stuck as a genin, though," Inari sighed, looking downcast. "Maybe if you went in disguise, though... how long can you hold a henge?"

Hanabi blushed. "I, um, can't. At all. I never learned that technique -- my father taught me all of my ninjitsu. The only technique I ever bothered studying at the Academy back home was the bushin, since that was required for the equivalency exam I took to become a ninja. I got exceptions for all the other requirements, though, because I was going the 'alternate path' of my clan's school."

Inari gaped for a moment before shaking his head. "Damn. So I actually know something better then you, huh? Well... we've got a couple days. I could teach you the henge, I'm sure of it."

"I might like to learn it," Hanabi admitted. "I'm starting to realize that my clan might not be quite as perfect as I'd always believed, and so maybe I'm not as good of a fighter knowing just the family techniques... but even if I learn it, that won't help me. Even Naruto-san wouldn't be able to hold his varient of the henge the entire length of the chuunin exam, which I've heard can take as long as a month and a half."

"Well, there goes that idea," Inari sighed. Then he grinned. "You know, there's another option to the henge. Naruto-sensei always talks about how hard he had it, learning ninjitsu techniques. His own teachers never even tried to teach him anything -- not until he save Iruka-sensei's life, that is, and that was just a few days before he graduated. He had to figure everything out from scratch, for the most part... and sometimes, he got the technique completely wrong. He didn't always get the wrong effect, however."

Hanabi frowned. "A varient of the henge? But that would have the same problem as the henge itself, wouldn't it? Unlike our 'junior hokage,' as I've started hearing a few of us from Konoha call him, some of us have a merely finite supply of chakra, and any constant drain would easily be exhausted well before the end of a full month and a half."

"No, not a henge varient," Inari explained. "A... well, consider it the taijutsu form of the henge. How would you like to learn the fine art of basic disguise?"

"And just how could I go in disguise?" Hanabi snorted. "I have a few traits that kind of mark me as a Hyuuga, you know."

"Ever hear of contact lenses?" Inari suggested. "Your eyes don't have to stop you from hiding yourself, you know."

Hanabi considered his idea. She was very tempted -- she definitely wanted to become a chuunin, and it was disappointing to her that she couldn't do so until some alternative to the Cloud test could be found -- but she realized the impracticality of it right away. "No... it just wouldn't work. I might be able to hide my appearance, but I know that combat is a part of the test. Just how would I be able to hide my combat training?"

Inari shrugged. "You're supposed to be a martial arts genius, right? So, it shouldn't take you too long to learn henge and kawarimi. Naruto-sensei spent much of our first several classes trying to get through our heads that all a ninja _really_ needs in order to be effective are those three techniques -- everything else may make us stronger or better, but if we're smart we shouldn't need anything else. You could learn those three things in a week."

"It's enough to do our job, I suppose," Hanabi replied, sighing. "But only if you've got enough taijutsu to support it, because none of those techniques provides any offensive punch. And my taijutsu is... distinctive. Sorry, Inari-chan, but it won't work."

Inari sighed. "Well... how about I try teaching you those three techniques, anyway? I know them pretty well, by now, and... and if you do decide to change your mind, they might become helpful."

Hanabi smiled at the boy slightly. He was always trying, wasn't he? He was a lot like Naruto, in that regard. A few months before would have been a real turn-off for her. But now... "Well... it's not like I've got anything else to do right now."

* * *

"Where's Naruto?" Jiraiya asked as Sakura entered the gymnasium for their weekly training session.

"He's busy dealing with something for the upcoming chuunin exam," Sakura replied.

"Fine. Training is cancelled."

"Hey!" Sakura protested. "I need training, too. Probably more than Naruto does -- why won't you train me?"

Jiraiya hesitated. "Well... I guess. No offense, girl, but you fight a bit too much like Tsunade for me to be comfortable teaching you my own techniques, so how about we just spar?"

She grinned. "Saying I fight like Tsunade-shishou is a compliment to me, Jiraiya-sama, not an insult. Sparring it is... although you don't seem to hesitate in teaching me your techniques when Naruto-kun is here."

"That's because I'm teaching _Naruto_ the techniques," Jiraiya pointed out. "I don't mind if you learn them, but teaching them to you, directly... well, my comfort-level is a big part of my teaching. That's why I'm not always the best of teachers -- if I'm not comfortable doing the job, I'm pretty bad at it. But I can spar with you, at least."

Sakura took a taunting stance. "Let's go, then, shall we?"

Shaking his head, Jiraiya matched her and stared down. "Begin," he called.

Sakura leapt up, a kunai suddenly in her hand. Rebounding off of the cieling, she aimed her dive to land on top of the legendary ninja, who just barely rolled out of the way in time. She followed it up with and upside down roundhouse kick that doubled as a kippup to right herself following the dive. Her kunai left her hand to prevent him from dodging in one direction, forcing him back against a wall. She threw a final punch which almost connected, but she had to pull back to avoid the razor-sharp spikes growing into his hair.

Jiraiya's counter-attacks were surprisingly clumsy and easily avoided... until she realized she was being lead into the opposite corner she had forced him. Well, perhaps it was time for her to use the first of the new kyuubi-based techniques Naruto had taught her.

She opened her mouth and shouted. Whatever she said wasn't exactly decipherable, as it wasn't in any human language, but she was calling a technique. The technique, translated, might have been called 'voice of rage,' but not even Sakura would have known that, for she was growling fox-language. Her shout carried with it an arcing wave of red chakra, blasting Jiraiya back several feet and knocking him to the ground.

"Uh," he called, slowly sitting up. "I think that's enough for today."

"But we were just getting started!" Sakura protested. "I've got three or four new techniques I'd like to try in sparring, thanks to Naruto-kun, and that was just one of them. Why won't you fight me?"

"Well, to be honest I'm a little hung over," Jiraiya whimpered. "And that blast just gave me the mother of all headaches. If this were a life or death situation, I wouldn't have a problem with fighting you as I am, but... well, I don't want to be sick."

Sakura sighed. "All right, go on. I guess I'll work on things alone for a while."

"Good. Next week you'll be training with Anko-chan, but I think she plans to just spar, too. Maybe you'll be able to try your new techniques, then," Jiraiya said, staggering to his feet. "See you around."

Sakura watched him go, considering his words. He didn't seem hung-over... rather, he seemed tired. Very tired. The energy he usually had, which sometimes matched Naruto in its intensity, seemed almost entirely gone. What was going on? Was he hiding something more serious, or was he really just overindulging in drink? Maybe it was time she started demanding everyone undergo physicals. It was time to put her position as the hospital administrator to some good use.

* * *

Hanabi was walking home after dark. It had been a long day -- learning the henge was embarrasingly hard for her, considering it was a technique most children knew before they even entered the Academy back in Konoha, and then he'd started her in on the kawarimi. True, they didn't take too long to get the basics down for, since she had all the background in chakra control and molding which the Academy often spent months teaching, but she'd come out with some pretty stupid-looking transformations before she finally started getting it pretty close to correct.

An overwhelming sense of danger suddenly filled her. With a quick movement, she dove to her right to avoid a series of kunai that were headed right for her. She didn't have time to look for her attackers -- or even activate the byakugan -- before she had to dodge again. A kick, this time, but it was dark and she couldn't see the person through their black clothes. Another kunai followed the kick, causing her to jump back into what appeared to be a tripwire, sending another dozen or so shuriken at her. She leapt up as fast as she could, but another kunai was thrown in front of her. The kunai had an explosive tag, knocking her away even though she had managed to avoid all contact with it. With a crash, she slammed into the concrete wall of one of the houses lining her path. Finally, she caught sight of her attacker.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" she fumed angrilly. "I could have been killed!"

"No, you couldn't have," her attacker pointed out. "Those were wooden shuriken."

Hanabi blinked, taking a closer look at the weapons. Yes, they were all made out of wood. There was some sort of metallic paint covering them to make them look like their usual steel construction, but that paint was chipped in enough places that the wood became obvious upon closer inspection. "Still," she growled. "What's the big idea?"

"I just wanted to prove something to you. That you can fight without the byakugan. You didn't activate it once during our little battle, there."

"So?"

"So... I think you should take the chuunin exam. And I wanted to prove to you that you could."

Hanabi sighed. "It's more then my byakugan which keeps me from joining that tournament, Naruto-san. I can't risk it."

Naruto grinned slightly, stepping over to the girl. "Well, I'd agree that you can't risk combat. All this was, for me, was a test to see if you would instinctively activate the byakugan if you were attacked... and you didn't. All we need to do is slip a disguise over you, maybe some colored contact lenses, and I think it would be safe enough for you to go into Cloud country for the exam."

"But... you just said I can't risk combat," Hanabi shot back, confused. "So what good will that do? Or does Cloud not have a tournament in their exam?"

"Oh, they have a tournament, all right," Naruto admitted. "But you won't have to participate in it."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed. "Come with me," he replied, gesturing for her to follow him. With a shrug, Hanabi joined him as he leapt up to the rooftops, jumping from building to building until they arrived near the Administrative Building where she worked. Finally, he lead her into an odd room which had no way of being accessed other then from the rooftop. Inside, there was a table, a few chairs, and little else.

"Where are we?" she asked in surprise.

"A Plan B room, as it's called," he explained. "Remember the counterattack plans for invasion in Konoha?"

"Oh, it's for an evacuation," she said.

"Well, this one is actually supposed to be command and control," Naruto explained. "It wouldn't really be safe to be evacuated here if you were a civilian, but it would be a decent place for the administration to hide until it was time to counterattack."

Hanabi looked around. "A bit sparse, isn't it?"

"We haven't had the budget to fix it up properly, yet," Naruto sighed. "But that's not why I brought you here. I need to discuss certain things about Blossom's state of affairs, first."

Hanabi blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot," Naruto replied. "Blossom is in desperate need of more higher-ranked ninja. The original plans called for Konoha to slowly poor in a few more people at a time, so that by the end of five years we would be able to accept A rank missions if necessary... but those plans have changed."

Hanabi understood immediately. "Let me guess -- my clan's screwed everything up, right?"

"Yep," Naruto answered truthfully, not usually one to mince words... unless he was dealing with Sakura. "The civil war your clan is fighting had forced the old hag to tell us that we have to fend for ourselves, save for the very occasional bit of temporary help like Kakashi's five jounin. She has said something about maybe providing us with another medi-nin to take over for Sakura-chan, allowing her to move into another position, but even that's up in the air. Which means we're going to have to add more chuunin and jounin from the people here, now. Which means we are in desperate need for three genin to pass the chuunin exam, which would permit us to expand the number of teams we have by three once the rookie class in our Academy graduates. As it is, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, and I have been pulling triple duty since we got here."

Hanabi nodded slowly. "I think I understand. But I don't see how that effects me -- you can always find another genin instead of me to take the test, and even if you couldn't... well, how could I pass if I only take the written test?"

"You aren't going to," Naruto explained. "Look, I've never had a family. If I were to take the people closest to me and give them roles, well, Iruka-sensei would be my older brother, the puppy lady would be my older sister, puppy girl my younger sister, and Kakashi-sensei... well, between he, the retired chef for the Ichiraku back in Konoha, and ero-sennin, I feel like I have a trio of parents. No mother, but plenty of fathers... or maybe a father, an uncle, and a grandfather. But Kakashi-sensei... well, as much of a family member as he is, I can't let him get away with this plan of his. We can't allow the Cloud to bring in teams to our village until we're strong enough to stand up for ourselves. But we do need chuunin. So... that leaves us with a few options."

Hanabi was intrigued. "Naruto-san... you aren't planning to launch a coup, are you?"

His eyes widened. "Me? Are you kidding? No, nothing like that! I... I... Kakashi-sensei would never forgive me! Niether would the old hag, and I _definitely_ would lose my chance at being hokage, some day. Nothing like that!"

"Then what are you proposing?" Hanabi asked, curious.

"Well..." he began reluctantly. "I've got some... sources, you might call them, inside the Administrative building. They can get me a few things if I ask them to... things like the copy of the treaty Kakashi-sensei signed with the Cloud. I know exactly what the deal is... and what it would take to break us out of it. To start with, it's no secret that the chuunin exam is a three part test... and that the first part is always a written exam. Once you get through the first part, well, options other then taking a second chuunin exam open to you. The treaty says that we are only obligated to accept their teams as Kakashi-sensei described _if _our students make it into the second part of the exam. So... I'm going to ask the three genin we send in for the test to intentionally fail that first part... or, if they don't let you do that, leave before the second part starts. If that happens, you three have completed the chuunin requirements... and we aren't obligated to follow that disastrous treaty Kakashi-sensei has signed. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Yeah..." Hanabi said slowly. "Okay, that would work for the first exam... but in six months, what are we going to do? I mean, you aren't going to force us to have one and only one chuunin exam, are you?"

"No," Naruto agreed. "I'm pretty sure this will ruin any chances for our genin to take the test in Cloud, in the future. The thing is, however, there are other sites to take the test. The major ones are in Konoha, Cloud, and Rock... but there are a few minor locations, as well. There's one that travels from smaller village to smaller village -- and, in about seven months, they'll be in Waterfall country. They accept anybody. They aren't as... reputable, as the three major locations are, but they should be adequate for our purposes... and they pass a significantly higher percentage of chuunin."

Hanabi sighed, and nodded. "Okay. I understand all of that. But why send me to take the test in Cloud, and not have me wait the seven months for Waterfall's exam?"

"Simple," Naruto replied. "Hanabi-chan, you still have a lot to learn -- I don't think even you will deny that, after the way you were letting Inari-chan teach you basic techniques earlier today."

"You were spying on us?" she cried, outraged.

He shrugged. "Hey, I needed to talk with you about this. I saw him doing it for me, and figured he might have a shot, first... and then, when I heard about your concerns regarding your fighting style, I had to figure out how to test you and see if those concerns were at all legitimate."

She flushed. "Then you saw..."

"Yeah, that henge of me was pretty funny!" Naruto chuckled. "You should have seen the ones I did of the Third, when I was still trying to learn the technique. They were much worse, trust me! Don't worry -- you got it down fast enough. Of course, I taught Konohamaru-chan to do it in about half the time, but Inari-chan didn't know what he was doing, really..."

She flushed even deeper. "You mean that idiot boy learned this thing faster then I did?"

"Hey! He's the son of the Third, and he isn't an idiot! He's just a little immature, that's all," Naruto protested. "I was the same way, when I was his age... only I was worse."

Hanabi looked at him darkly. "Your point?"

Naruto blinked for a few seconds before laughing. "I left myself wide open for that one, didn't I?"

"Yes," Hanabi agreed. "You did. Now... what was this about me having a lot to learn?"

"Oh, right," he answered. "Look, Hanabi-chan... you may have a lot to learn, but you're still the best of the genin we have. You and Konohamaru-chan are the only two genin I know can handle the promotion before I even see you take the test. I hope to find at least one more in the tournament, as well, but we need a minimum of three. I'm not sure we could find two others in the tournament, so... I really need you to take the test."

Hanabi sighed. "Well... I guess I'd better get Inari-chan to start teaching me the 'art of disguise,' too..."

"That's a good girl!" Naruto cheered. "Come on, Hanabi-chan. I'll treat you to some ramen... but then you should get some rest. You've only got one more day to prepare for the pre-exam tournament."

* * *

Notes: My writer's block mostly worked itself out in the opening few lines of this chapter, so I guess that's not as much of a concern as it was... I still feel a bit of it, though, so keep that in mind.

Next chapter: The tournament begins. It may end, too -- we'll see how long each fight takes.


	41. V3 Chapter 31

Volume 3

Notes: This should be interesting. Even I'm not sure how one of the fights will go between some of the 'cast of extras' among the genin -- my own notes say 'toss a coin' once. I guess we'll see.

I was informed I made a mistake about making Konohamaru the Third's son, not grandson like I should have. Oops -- silly mistake on my part -- I knew that and had what I've often heard called a 'brain fart' when I was typing that line. I may fix it at some point, but not immediately. (Thankfully, I didn't have two dozen seperate reviews telling me I made that mistake, this time, the same as I once did when I had Anko admit to being Naruto's 'father,' which was also, likewise, a 'brain fart.' I'm relieved that I don't have to go through that again, this time) I also apparently, once, referred to Inari as Konohamaru -- or perhaps it was visa versa, the review wasn't very clear -- but I can't find that mistake to correct it.

I recieved one rather long and complex review regarding my dialog style, and how it makes all the characters sound a bit off their true characterization. I honestly agree, although the problem is a result of my trying to apply some of my original fiction standards of dialog to fanfiction. It is something I COULD, in theory, fix, if I wanted to go back to the beginning of the fic and rewrite ALL of the dialog into something more consciously resembling the 'true' character's speech patterns... but I would be defeating one of my own purposes in writing this fanfic if I were to do so (which is to practice writing for future original work). Does that mean the characterization of these people I'm borrowing from Kishimoto is off? Eh, perhaps. Some of that may be, though, that I made certain guesses about how certain characters have changed between Part 1 and Part 2 of the manga. Some of those guesses have already proven false, but some have proven true as well, and the jury is still out on a lot of them. At any rate, it's much too late to do anything about it, now, unless I want to undertake that rewrite (which would be so much work, at this point, that I would probably just scrap the whole fic instead. I think that would annoy the majority of people who have been enjoying this fic, so I think not). So... I suppose I must ask you to bear with it.

* * *

Chapter 31

"Aw, come on, Naruto! Why do I have to fight an extra round! I thought we were friends!" Konohamaru protested, looking at the brackets for the tournament. He'd come knocking on Naruto's door at dawn the day of the tournament, hoping to get answers... and he'd gotten them. He just wasn't so happy with what they were.

"I do like you, Konohamaru-chan," Naruto replied, grinning. "You're like my little brother. But you aren't getting out of the extra fight."

"Aw, man," he sighed. "And just why do I have to fight a _girl,_ anyway?"

"That 'girl,' as you called her, might have the greatest potential of any Hyuuga ever," Naruto pointed out. "The only possible rival is Neji, who I think may be a little better, but it's so close that I don't think we'll ever know for certain given how much older and more experienced Neji will always be. You're the son of a former hokage, you were the top of your class, and you've had an elite teacher working with you for years. It's a good match."

"Then you should have organized it so that we met in the finals, not so one of us goes out in the first round!" he protested.

"Nah," Naruto replied. "I have a pretty good idea of where the two of you are. What I want to know is if anyone else could beat one of the two of you. I put the best of everyone else in the other half of the bracket, and the 'dark horses' on your side. Unless someone is unexpectedly strong among those unknowns, though, I'm hoping that whichever of you is better will face someone just about your equal in the finals."

The younger boy grinned, recognizing the compliment. "Oh. Well, when you put it that way, I suppose having to fight Hanabi-chan in a preliminary match isn't that bad of an idea, after all."

"Naruto!" a voice called from behind the older boy. "Did I just hear you admit you've rigged this tournament?"

Naruto stiffened slightly. "What was that, Sakura-chan?"

The pink-haired girl came up behind him, dressed in a robe that was only revealing enough to show that she was wearing at least a flannel pajama shiirt underneath, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I asked if you were admitting you rigged the tournament."

"Of course I did," Naruto admitted, visibly relaxed by the kiss. "I didn't say they would be picked at random. I arranged for them to pair off against each other in the order I'd most like to see them fight, and not leave it to random chance. It would make sense to have it random if this was just a competition and we were trying to be fair to everyone, but that's not the case this time. We're trying to see who would be the best chuunin. So, I'm making what I feel are the best match-ups for that, instead."

"And I'm sure you're going to admit that to all the genin, right?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Naruto asked. "I don't think they'd believe me if I lied to them, anyway. Konohamaru, what's wrong?"

The genin's mouth was opening and closing like a fish as he pointed, seemingly shocked beyond words, at Sakura. The girl noticed and checked her robes. "What? Is something the matter? Nothing's slipped, has it?"

"You... you're living here?" Konohamaru finally sputtered out, astonished.

She laughed. "I've been living here for quite some time, off and on. I could have sworn you knew that!"

"I knew the two of you were dating, but... but..."

"There's a second bedroom," Naruto commented dryly.

Konohamaru looked from him to Sakura and back. "So, you two haven't..."

"Not yet," Naruto replied.

If anything, the boy looked even more put out. "Why the hell not? I mean, she's here, isn't she? Don't you two want to--"

"Konohamaru!" Sakura interrupted with a shout. Then she blushed so brightly she was almost red. "We... um, well... yes, but..."

Naruto shrugged, taking his queue from her. "Yeah, we do. But we're not going to until we're good and ready, and we aren't ready yet."

"Well... it's your life, I guess," Konohamaru sighed. "Guess I've still got a shot on that betting pool, anyway."

"Betting pool?" Sakura asked dangerously.

"Um," Konohamaru panicked. "Look, the tournament is starting in about an hour and I need to go do some warm-ups really quick, so I'd better get going, okay? I'll see you soon!"

"Wait right there!" the pink haired girl ordered, flickers of chakra manifesting itself around her.

"Urk!" Konohamaru gasped, freezing in place.

She walked up to the boy, and leaned over to whisper in his ear. First, he paled... then turned green. Naruto watched in confusion -- normally, when Sakura wanted to punish someone, it was done very loudly and very physically, but it seemed that she was treating Konohamaru with, well, kid gloves. It astounded him... and he was absolutely terrified she'd try whatever whispering technique she was using on him, considering how the boy looked.

Finally, she let him go. First, Konohamaru stared up at her with something akin to awe in his face. "R... really?" he finally asked, barely able to keep his voice from breaking.

"Yeah," Sakura replied. "I think so."

"Wow," he answered, still stunned.

"Now... didn't you have to go do some warm-ups?"

"Uh... right!" Konohamaru replied, backing into the front door with his eyes on the girl before remembering to open it. Once he was out the door, he practically vanished with how fast he'd run off.

Naruto shook his head, looking at the dust where the boy had been still floating in the air. "Should I even ask what you said to him?"

"I'm pretty sure you'll find out some time," she replied, grinning. "Come on -- let's go see to this tournament you're putting on."

* * *

Ebisu had picked the short straw when they were deciding who would referee the tournament, and so he stood in the middle of the amphitheatre waiting for everyone to get ready. He wasn't exactly looking forward to the job. Especially not since the very first match was supposed to feature both his star pupil on one side and the head of her class on the other. This was bound to be the sort of match the referee would have to get involved in, which was exactly why most people didn't like to be a referee in ninja-style tournaments to begin with. In fact, he hated being the referee.

The first examinee to arrive had been Konohamaru. He was blushing rather fiercely when he arrived, and in answer to Ebisu's question only explained his embarrassment with the words, "Sakura-chan told me her possible birthday plans." Considering that the pink-haired chuunin had last had a birthday only about four months earlier, this only added to the jounin's confusion. However, he didn't have long before he was distracted by the arrival of others.

Said pink-haired chuunin arrived, attached to her boyfriend, a few minutes later. As she had in recent weeks, she dressed in a way that exposed the kyuubi seal on her belly. Ebisu was still coming to grips with that. After having been exposed to the boy -- and keeping a careful eye on him whenever he and Konohamaru were together -- he had grown to realize that Naruto could handle the presence of the demon inside him. He wasn't quite so sure about the girl, however -- he didn't know her very well, and wasn't sure what to make of the fact that she was now as much a container for the kyuubi as Naruto himself was.

Sakura's mother showed up a few moments afterwards. She was the only person in the entire village of Blossom with any experience as a tournament referee, even if said tournament was an exhibition and not a competition. She was the one who should have had this job. However, as she was retired from active duty, she had the right to refuse the assignment... and she had. She'd said something about wanting to sit in the stands with her daughter and future son-in-law (in Ebisu's mind, while it was obvious to just about everyone that Naruto was in love with Sakura, it seemed unlikely that he'd ever get around to marrying the girl. Haruno, however, seemed rather certain about it) and therefore couldn't perform. She'd finally (albeit reluctantly) agreed to help in the final judgement for the slot on the chuunin exam team (it wasn't exactly a secret that two of the competitors -- Konohamaru and Hanabi -- were already going to be sent to take the exam, should they want to go) as a panel jurist, but that didn't help Ebisu get out of the job.

Then the slow trickle of people turned into a stream, and it became difficult to say who came in when. Kakashi was late -- as most people expected -- although not as late as Ebisu had feared he would be (Later, he discovered that Naruto had purposely told Kakashi that the tournament was starting an hour earlier then it really was supposed to, which probably helped), and was the last to arrive. By then, all nine genin were standing in the amphitheatre stretching and performing other warm-up exercises while they waited for the tournament to start. The other jounin -- including the five who had accompanied Kakashi on the Sasuke hunt -- were all taking places of honor in the stands, as was Jiraiya.

There were also some of the new brothel's employees -- not all of whom were prostitutes, as they required some people to do their paperwork and accounting as well -- including the young woman that everyone knew was Naruto's 'friend.' Just what that particular 'friendship' entailed, however, was something of an area of speculation among much of the village. Sakura the kunoichi's confidence in her relationship with Naruto was so obvious that most people found themselves hoping that he was, in fact, just friends with the prostitute. A few of the more pessimistic minds felt a great deal of sympathy for the girl, for they saw her as no competition for the affections of a professional. Ebisu's own thoughts on the matter were a bit more favorable to the former viewpoint, but he saw much merit in the later as well.

The prostitute in question was carrying an odd book in her hands -- the sort of book one might see a young child reading in Konoha, but which would be hard to find outside of a ninja village. It was a manual on the very basics of chakra use, the sort of thing even the families in Konoha who weren't of the ninja clans would have their children knowing by the time they were five, just so that they could fit in with ninja society. In Blossom, where said knowledge was a bit rarer, it was rather unusual to see the book at all... there had been no births, as of yet, to any of the ninja in the new village, and no children outside of the genin brought in, so there was no-one to be raised with such knowledge. Even the children at the Academy were starting with something more advanced, making it a rather unusual find in Blossom. An even more curious thing was that he knew that only one person had brought a copy of that book into Blossom when they moved... and that was the older Haruno woman. Was was the connection between this prostitute and the mother of the child who was allegedly her greatest competition in an affair of the heart? Ebisu spent some of his spare time trying -- and failing -- to puzzle that one out.

Ebisu took the time, also, to survey the genin who were about to begin this test. There was Konohamaru, of course, now seemingly recovered from whatever fright it was that had sent him to the stadium early and looking quite ready to compete. However, now he was looking vaguely embarrassed for an entirely different reason -- Moegi was, as usual, plying him with her attentions. It wasn't that she was... unwelcome, for the boy, it was just he had no idea what to do with her. He was quite plainly fond of the girl, but she was already physically maturing while he was still a pre-adolescent (although just barely), despite the fact that they were within a few months of the same age... Konohamaru being the older of the two. This difference had him occasionally bewildered by Moegi, when she offered him certain things he wasn't ready for -- or, in other words, he freaked out every time she even kissed him on the cheek. Considering the boy had mastered the 'sexy no jutsu' (or rather, a false sexy no jutsu, since he now understood there was more to the technique then a simple henge such as the one Konohamaru performed) at the tender age of nine, it was a bit surprising how completely he fell apart when he gained the attention of a real girl... but, perhaps, it was only Moegi who caused him such problems. Ebisu had never seen the boy have any difficulties dealing with other girls his age -- or even older -- yet he always seemed so flustered around his female teammate when she decided to 'turn on the charm.'

Moegi, herself, was trying to charm him by having him help her stretch. There was something wrong about having a twelve year old girl coming on to a thirteen year old boy by showing him she could lift her leg over her own head (or rather, over Konohamaru's own head, as she was using him as a substitute for a wall while she stretched), but there wasn't anything Ebisu could say about it... at least, not right now, he couldn't.

Udon, as he stretched, was wheezing as he usually did. The poor boy had terrible allergies, and if it weren't for the fact he was an absolutely brilliant genius he probably would have flunked out of ninja school years before. Ebisu had always been reluctant about teaching him, afraid he would get hurt, but Konohamaru had insisted. To the jounin's great relief, Udon had proven his worth time and time again... and recently had taken up some training as a field medic -- not the skills required of a full-fledged medi-nin, but at least enough to render first aid in an emergency. It was something his team was sadly lacking, and so Ebisu found he was glad to have him. However, his skills were not in combat but rather in stealth, subterfuge, and survivalism. He was also the team's expert on crafting custom weapons, making explosive charms, and so forth. However... as a combat style ninja, he was rather pathetic, and the other two typically had to protect him.

Hanabi looked rather determined. He knew that she had initially intended not to participate, but she'd surprised them all when she came up to him the next day (when he'd been officially declared the referee) and warned him that she was participating, after all. No-one besides her and possibly (though it didn't seem likely, as everyone knew they hated each other) Naruto knew why, but she had. Now, she seemed to be pretty sure of herself. She had the right to be -- she was the favorite to win the tournament, and had already gained the pass to the chuunin exam unless she really screwed up here.

Futaba was playing with her dog, Gonta. She seemed utterly unconcerned about this tournament, but then again she was a rather care-free sort as far as Ebisu could tell. The one thing he couldn't tell was if she even really wanted the promotion in the first place -- she seemed quite satisfied with her current job, after all.

Daichi sat meditating, gathering chakra for his upcoming round. Ebisu felt sorry for the boy -- he was from a re-discovered wing of the elder Aburame clan, from back before they had made their deal with the insects, and should have had all of the bloodline abilities and techniques that clan had once held before sacrificing them in said deal. Unfortunately, there was no-one to teach him how to access those techniques, as they had been lost in time with only a few very ancient -- and badly worn -- scrolls remaining to tell of their special skills. This boy, he knew, had done his best with them... but most of those surviving scrolls were illegible or untranslatable. He claimed that there was at least one he still could decifer, but that he lacked the chakra capacity to perform that technique. He did his best with only the basics, but considering his first match would be against the winner of Konohamaru and Hanabi's... well, it didn't look good for him.

The remaining trio of genin were the true dark horses of the tournament. Of everyone, they had seen the least combat, had the least training, and were generally regarded as the weakest of the teams in Blossom. He had heard that Nobori had taken an apprenticeship with Sakura in the hospital, but that had only started recently -- Aoba had made the arrangements some time after Kakashi had returned -- and was only for her medical talents. The enhanced strength and medical combat techniques she knew were she had apparently refused to teach until he had mastered the basics of medical ninjitsu. He had also heard that Kouji had been seen hanging around Konohamaru and, when he was gone, Futaba, recently, but whether that was for simple comraderie or for training he didn't know. He suspected that the later was more of a crush then anything else, although what he was doing with Konohamaru, well... somehow they had escaped his supervision, so apparently they were trying to hide something.

The final genin, Matsuri, was perhaps the only member of that team who had any real special talents -- at least, she was the only one who had any when her team had been formed. She came from the same clan as Jiraiya, and knew one or two of his more basic family techniques, but her skills were rather limited. Her branch of the family had offended the toads, eliminating her line from recieving that clan's greatest strengths. The toads seemed to be gravitating towards the Uzumaki clan, instead, anyway -- they were only demanding of Naruto the same amount of chakra as they required of Jiraiya, he believed, whereas they had been demanding almost a thousand times more when he must have first started summoning toads. Assuming the Uzumaki continued on past Naruto, it was entirely possible that the entire clan Jiraiya belonged to would drift away from that alliance.

Ebisu considered the nine candidates for the genin exam. He supposed he had his favorite to win the third spot... but he couldn't even try and think of who that was, since it would possibly bias him in the competition. He couldn't afford to be biased, since he was the referee. He really, _really _hated being the referee.

* * *

"Naruto-sensei!" a voice called from the top of the steps. He turned to see two of his students -- Inari and Adaha -- standing at the top of the steps. "Any chance you could arrange a seat for us down where we could actually see the action?"

"Sure thing, Inari!" Naruto called back. He glanced around and noticed that there was almost enough space left on his bench for one of them. Maybe he could squeeze over to the side, a bit, but what about the other boy? Then, he had an idea. "Come on down. You can have Sakura-chan's seat!"

Sakura blinked. "He can? Then where am I going to sit?"

Grinning, he picked her up and placed her in his lap. "How about here?"

She wriggled about until she was in a more settled position -- intentionally ignoring the discomfort on Naruto's face -- and finally nodded. "I guess I can work with this."

"Erm, yeah," Naruto replied reluctantly. He had been in a rather playful mood, before, but right now he was in danger of losing control of certain parts of his psyche. He ruthlessly stamped them down, again, as she finally stopped moving -- the greatest fear he had, with regards to maintaining control around Sakura, was that if he ever lost control he'd never get it back... which would have him pressuring her to advance things faster then she was ready for. Something he had sworn not to do... and so he had to maintain that fine balance of enough playfulness to prove he was interested in her, sexually, without pushing it so far that he went over the edge, himself. The feel of Sakura's rather cute derriere wriggling on his lap was a bit much for him, he decided, when he was already 'in the mood.' He would have to avoid such encounters in the future, if he could.

"Thank you, Naruto-sensei, Sakura-sensei," Adaha remarked politely as he and Inari took their seats. "While I have learned much from Hanabi-kun, I have yet to discover a method of 'zooming in' with my vision. I would have needed binoculars or opera glasses, if you had not allowed us to sit here."

"Well," Inari said, rather embarrased. "He may have needed to come here for that reason. I just wanted a better look at Hanabi-chan."

"Well," Sakura said, pointing to the field. "I think that her first fight is just about to begin."

"This tournament is about to begin," Ebisu called to the crowd. The loud chatting which had been taking place came to a halt as he'd stepped forward to make the announcement, but he still could barely be heard in the top row -- human beings made great insulators against the echoes of sounds, even when they were quiet. "I understand Kakashi-sama would have liked to make a few final instructions before we begin, but he has been delayed. Perhaps Naruto-dono would be willing to make them in his absence?"

It wasn't the first time one of the jounin referred to Naruto with the 'dono' since Kakashi's return, but it was the first time one did it in a professional capacity. It spoke volumes that no-one else even batted an eye. In fact, the only reaction to the announcement (outside of a huff from Sakura as she had to leave her favorite seat so that he could stand up) were a few gruff mumbles of what seemed to be people wishing that Kakashi had stayed gone.

"My final instructions are simple," Naruto said. This was a prepared speech -- he had been counting on Kakashi being late, and wanted to say this instead of letting the jounin-oyabun have the chance. That was why he had told Kakashi that the tournament started one hour earlier then it really did and not two. "There have been times that one genin has had to kill another during the chuunin exam. This is _not_ a chuunin exam, however -- this is simply a qualifier. While a ninja should always fight with the 'intent to kill,' I ask that you not take that rule to heart in this competition. Blossom is a small town -- we cannot afford to be killing ourselves off. Thank you, and good luck to all of you."

He took his seat again, and once more had to endure Sakura's enchanting rear end as it took that seat back. Ebisu returned to the limelight to start the matches. "The first match pits Sarutobi Konohamaru against Hyuuga Hanabi. It begins... now."

* * *

Konohamaru was talented. Konohamaru was tough. Konohamaru was experienced. Konohamaru was the most intensely trained ninja of his generation.

Konohamaru was in more trouble then he had been at any point in his life, as he was going up against a Hyuuga. He knew of them, and had even seen members of their clan fight on occasion. They were worthy of their reputation, to his mind, and he just happened to get the girl first thing in the tournament. The knowledge that he would get a berth in the chuunin exam, regardless of the outcome, did little to put his mind at ease. He was going up against not just a Hyuuga, but a Hyuuga of the main line. He was facing an opponent who, in all honesty, was out of his league.

One of the things he had learned from his hero-worship of Naruto, however, was not to give up, whatever the odds. So, he had to figure out how to win... and do it quickly, as she appeared to be moving faster then he could. It would only be a matter of time before he could dodge her no longer, and once she caught up with him it would be too late. He would lose the ability to use most of his techniques once she started applying the techniques her clan knew to alter their opponents chakra, and once that happened he was toast. Unlike Naruto, he couldn't call upon a second supply of chakra to replenish his own if he lost it.

He couldn't afford any close-in attacks... which was a shame, because those were his best ones. Nor did he think the 'sexy no jutsu' or the 'harem no jutsu' would work on the girl, eliminating the two 'cheap but easy' methods he had for combatting friendly opponents. He could always try shuriken techniques, but those rarely worked against an opponent of any skill -- they were best used as distractions, or for traps... although he had heard of a ninja managing to use one effectively in close-range taijutsu on occasion. He was trying to avoid hand-to-hand, however, so perhaps that wasn't a good idea.

That eliminated most of his better techniques... but not all of them. Like just about everyone else in Konoha -- even many of the civilian population -- he knew the kawarimi, the henge, and the basic bushin techniques. That gave him a fighting chance, since all three techniques could easily be used in defence against the girl's attacks... although her byakugan made using any of them rather problematic. He had one final technique which could easily prove useful, however. It was his best technique, and he probably should save it for a matter of last resort... but, then again, he was unlikely to face competition as stiff as this girl later in the tournament, so perhaps this moment was the moment of 'last resort' he needed it for.

He bit his thumb, then spread the resulting blood among all ten of his fingers. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he cried, slamming both hands down upon the ground.

Illusory seals spread out from each point his fingers touched, spelling out the elaborate language of the contract he had signed almost as a toddler for just this sort of a move. It was fairly draining of his chakra, but this was pretty much his best hope of defeating a Hyuuga -- any Hyuuga. Hopefully, he would have enough rest time to restore enough of his chakra to fight the others effectively once he was done, but it didn't matter -- this was pretty much just a game to him, after all... winning and losing didn't matter, in the long run, and all that was at stake was his pride. He would take his best shot, and if that failed so be it.

Along the ground where his fingers touched, an army appeared. The outer two were very small monkeys, both relatively indistinct save for the Konoha-style forehead protectors both wore. The next six were great apes -- large, powerful, and heavily armored, all also wearing Konoha head protectors. The final two were fierce baboons, bearing their teeth, although they wore no armor at all. The alliance of the Sarutobi clan to the simians was long and loyal, and relatively little chakra was demanded whenever a summoning was performed between the two. The same amount of chakra required to summon a single infantile creature for those allied to the five great animal ninja clans -- the toads, serpents, slugs, birds, and spiders -- allowed a Sarutobi to summon a great ape, according to Ebisu. There was one particular great ape, however, that Konohamaru had yet to summon, despite his many attempts to over the years -- and that was his grandfather's greatest ally, the Ape-Lord Enma. Heck, he'd even settle for being able to summon the other legendary Ape-Lord, the trickster Son Goku, although Goku was notoriously difficult to command. However, as he could not, he chose quantity over quality, and thus had a small army of highly skilled -- if, perhaps, not human -- ninja at his side for this competition.

"Attack!" he called, pointing at the girl. That was all he needed to say to launch said small army into action.

Hanabi was momentarily distressed at the sudden increase in numbers. She had techniques designed against multiple opponents, yes, but she wasn't trained to call upon them at a moment's notice, yet. She paused, trying to call up the necessary mindset to engage in this kind of fight, and that was her downfall. Within moments, all six great apes had her secured, two on her arms, two on her legs, and two more forcing her knees and elbows locked to prevent any of the counters she might know from coming out. The two monkeys looked ready to come in at a moment's notice, and the two baboons were behind her, ready to knock her down if she somehow worked her way free. Konohamaru was charging in, hand outstretched, ready to strike at her gut, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her to yield with the single blow.

Unfortunately, in a course of events no-one could possibly have seen take place, Konohamaru encountered a small problem. The amphitheatre was an open-air stadium, which meant that the conditions on the field weren't exactly perfect -- nature could interfere in the match, if he wasn't paying attention. Sadly, his attention was solely on the girl in front of him, so he failed to spot the muddy patch between him and Hanabi. His foot slipped, and naturally he braced himself. His outstretched hand ran into something, and he grabbed hold as quick as he could to keep from falling.

_Goosh_

Momentarily blinded, Konohamaru was confused about that. _Goosh? What the hell goes 'goosh,' anyway?_ He gave it an experimental squeeze, hoping to see what it was.

"Y... you _pervert!_" Hanabi screamed. It was only then that Konohamaru knew what he was holding.

The characteristics of the Hyuuga clan were fairly well known by all, even if they had a lot of things they kept secret. Everyone knew of their unusual eyes, the fact that they all shared the same hair color, many of the same facial features, and they always were strong -- even when completely untrained. One of the more obscure points of knowledge about them, however, was exclusive to the female Hyuuga -- their chests developed faster (though not necessarily larger) then their counterparts. Hanabi was still growing, but she had enough there that she wouldn't be too unhappy if she never got any bigger. Right now, however, it was a bit of a problem... especially as Konohamaru was still squeezing her.

"Um... oops. I'm, uh, sorry?"

Hanabi's eye twitched. "If you're so sorry... then why aren't you letting go?" she growled. "Kaiten!"

The monkeys, apes, baboons, and Konohamaru didn't stand a chance. She had slammed more chakra into that one kaiten then at any other point in her life -- more then was required, by a long shot, to achieve her goal of ripping out of the grip all of her attackers had on her and sending them flying away. Most of the apes disappeared in puffs of smoke, desperate for a rest after the powerful blows she had thrown, as were the monkeys and baboons. Konohamaru was thrown across the stadium, slamming into a wall and sliding down in painfully. The last remaining ape took one look at the situation and moved to cover the boy as he recovered, but that proved pointless -- by then, Hanabi was already a streak of light in his eyes, slamming a powerful roundhouse kick into Konohamaru's head. The kick was hardly a move taught in the Hyuuga style of jyuuken -- rather, it was a move she had picked up from Inari during the previous couple days worth of training -- but it proved effective enough to knock him out and send him flying. The ape barely caught the unconscious boy, probably saving him from the serious injury that bad of a fall might cause, before Ebisu stepped in.

"Winner," he called. "Hyuuga Hanabi."

Cheers erupted from the crowd -- especially from the two Academy students seated next to Naruto and Sakura in the stands -- but not everyone was pleased. Moegi, who had leapt into the ring the moment the fight had ended to examine Konohamaru, slowly marched up to the victorious Hyuuga girl with her lips pressed together furiously in a line, anger coloring her cheeks red.

"How dare you!" the pig-tailed girl snapped.

"Me?" Hanabi replied, blinking. She knew Moegi, yes, and knew the girl had a crush on Konohamaru... but she'd gone easy on him, after the way he'd groped her like that. Why was she so angry with him? This was a tournament, after all. "What did I do?"

"You... you... manstealer!"

"Man... stealer?" Hanabi repeated slowly. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I saw you!" Moegi growled. "You... you were trying to tempt my Konohamaru away from me with your... your..."

It took a moment for Hanabi to understand just what the other girl was referring to, largely because she couldn't believe Moegi could possibly believe that she was actually_ trying_ to do anything in that set-up. "Hey, he was the one who groped me, Moegi."

"You pushed your chest into his hand!" Moegi accused. "How else could his hand have landed there when he fell?"

_This is nuts, _Hanabi thought to herself incredulously. "Look, he had his hand on my chest. It might not have been his fault for grabbing me, but it _was_ his fault for squeezing. And it certainly wasn't _my_ fault for being here, since he had his ape friends holding me in place."

"You've been flaunting them since I met you," Moegi growled. "A _real_ ninja would have bound them to keep them out of the way, you know. You just like teasing all the guys... like my Konohamaru-chan."

Hanabi shook her head in dismay. She had tried reasoning with the girl, but she was through playing nice. "Look, I didn't do anything to encourage anybody. If 'your' Konohamaru really meant to grab me, then obviously it's because he's not getting something from _you._ Quit blaming me for your problems."

Moegi's eyes widened, her nostrils flaring. "You... you _bitch!_ I'm going to tear you apart!"

Ebisu, who had been looking after Konohamaru, finally noticed what was going on nearby and moved to intervene. "Hey, save it for the tournament! No fighting, or you're disqualified... and even if you would otherwise go on to the chuunin exam, you won't after being disqualified. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Hanabi replied. She didn't really want to fight this girl, anyway. Obviously, this odd pig-tailed girl was crazy -- or at least deluded -- and she didn't want anything to do with her if she could avoid it.

"Fine," Moegi shot back. "I'll save it until I meet her in the tournament... but then, bitch, you're going to just _wish_ I'd settled it here... and you're going to regret ever even showing yourself to my Konohamaru-chan."

* * *

"That... is absolutely bizarre," Inari commented. "Naruto, Adaha, you're both guys too. Did you see Hanabi doing anything to 'encourage' Konohamaru?"

Naruto shook his head. "No... can't say I did."

"He didn't," Sakura agreed, not allowing the other Academy student to answer. Which was probably a good thing, as Adaha didn't seem to want to answer. In fact, he was crouching down in his seat, flushing oddly.

"Then what the hell was all that about?" Inari asked.

"Simple," the pink-haired medi-nin replied. "As a medical ninja, I've been given the medical records for everyone here -- including those distinct characteristics of the Akimichi clan I was told to watch for in Moegi. The Akamichi clan, I was warned, is very gentle, and has trouble fighting... unless they get angry, in which case they can become something like controlled berserkers. My guess is that even she doesn't believe half of what she said -- she was just using it to get herself good and angry." She grinned fiercely. "Naruto, you made up the schedule. When do they face each other?"

"Um, the semi-finals," Naruto replied. "Assuming they both get that far."

"I think I'm looking forward to that match. It should be quite... interesting."

* * *

Notes: I was a bit surprised when the anime and manga of Naruto referred to the great ape that the Third summoned as 'Enma,' and not as 'Son Goku,' as I would have expected... especially since Enma turned into what one might call (translating it into Dragonball terms) the 'power pole,' showing that he WAS supposed to be connected to that legend. I would like to do something about that in this fic, perhaps having 'Enma' and 'Son Goku' (of legend, not of Dragonball) meet... but I don't know if I will. I might manage to push something into the next-gen sequal, however, should Konohamaru ever make an appearance in it. (As said sequel is only less-than-half-plotted at the moment, there is more then enough room to include such a thing, but I'm not sure how just yet) Nevertheless, that is where the 'Enma or even Goku' reference Konohamaru makes comes from.

There was initially going to be a bit of toilet humor in the Konohamaru-Hanabi duel. I hate toilet humor, and was loathe to write it, but it seemed to fit in with my other plans. However (and fortunately, in my opinion), it fell flat. Just know that initially, the monkeys had something to do with Konohamaru's slip, and I think you should be able to figure out what was supposed to happen there. Bleh.

Next chapter: The tournament continues. FYI, this tournament saga is going to take much longer then I originally intended -- meaning, it already has exceeded my original plan's length, and should have at least two or three more chapters to go. However, when it ends, the volume will be just a short ways away from conclusion (as in, two more of the semi-episodic moments, and then the concluding arc where the whole Kakashi, Gatoh Group, Cloud, Jiraiya's weakness, and Brothel plot points are all wrapped up so that we can concentrate on those things I've been saving for V. 4 -- things such as the resolution of the Hyuuga Civil War, the Sasuke and Yuugao storyline (what, you didn't think that was OVER, did you?), the whole Rock storyline I was hinting at during V. 2 (remember that?), and so forth). Er, and of course certain storylines (such as when Sakura decides to actually marry Naruto, if at all) I don't want to say when they will be resolved. Oh, and the 'concluding arc' is probably going to be several chapters, as well. Anyway, now that I've revealed far more then I intended, I'll just summon up by saying that Volume 4 is coming up soon, so be ready for it.


	42. V3 Chapter 32

Volume 3

Notes: I am well aware that Konohamaru was the Third's grandson. I goof, sometimes (brain farts, like I said), but I am aware of that. I don't THINK I ever said he was the 'son' of the Third, last chapter, although I apparently did the chapter before (which was what my notes last chapter said... although that might have confused some into thinking I was saying that I'd made the mistake the other way around). I just can't find the occurance in a quick glance-through, so any correction will have to wait until I've got the time to make one.

* * *

Chapter 32

As Konohamaru was being helped off the field, a distressed Moegi following the stretcher, Naruto voiced a question that had just popped into his head. "Hm... what is the legal age for marriage in Konoha?"

Sakura blinked. "Um, I don't remember. Mom told me, once, but it's been a long time... I think twelve is the lower limit. Why?"

Naruto smirked. "Just a thought. Moegi's quite devoted, and I happen to know Konohamaru likes her -- even if he isn't quite sure how to deal with her. Maybe we could make 'arrangements' for them or something..."

"Arranged marriages are rarely very pleasant," Inari chirped from their side.

Adaha shifted again. "I... I am arranged to be married, but I'm not sure what to think about it myself."

"Oh? You never told me that," Inari complained. "Is it to anyone I know?"

"Uh," Adaha hesitated. "Yes?"

"Who?"

He was saved from having to answer by Ebisu stepping forward and making an announcement. "The next match is about to begin. Inuzuka Futaba will face Gekkou Udon. Begin!"

Udon looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but there, yet he strode forth as well as he could. He was sluggish, compared to his teammates, and to make matters worse his allergies were acting up more then usual. Still, he went forward with enough courage. He bowed politely to Futaba, who nodded back, and took up a rather poorly formed defensive stance. Futaba watched him for a moment, grinning. She felt fairly confident about this fight, obviously, as she had left Gonta on the sidelines, but there was just enough hint of caution in her that she obviously was trying not to be overconfident. Nevertheless, she charged in on the attack.

"Tsuuga!" she cried, leaping into the whirlwind attack of her clan. She ran face-first into a series of explosions.

Suddenly, Udon was no-where to be seen, but a series of wires and explosive tags encased Futaba's position. Somehow, without her -- or most of the others in the audience -- seeing, Udon had laid a series of traps the likes of which she had never imagined... and, of course, she had blundered right into the middle of them. She was entangled -- in wire, which was worse then netting since the netting a ninja used was designed for safe capture, whereas the wire was designed to cut. She stopped moving, and started considering her options carefully.

The trap she had literally run into was very effective, but it had its flaws. Udon couldn't approach her safely, which gave her time to think and plan, and she did some come mobility which she might be able to exploit. A typical person would have only one choice in order to escape -- use a kunai, or other sharp blade, and cut through the steel cables which trapped her. It would take ages, but it would be doable. It wouldn't be a very good idea, though, if there was the threat that the trapper -- Udon, in this case -- was around. Making that sort of move would open her up to shuriken attack, which was a rather embarrassing way for any ninja who had passed their initial test (typically known, in Konoha, as the 'Bell Test') to go. Her dog could have helped her out, but she -- trying too hard to show that she was on the same elite level as Hanabi and Konohamaru -- had decided to try her luck without him. It might prove her downfall... but not because of this.

Any trap had a release button, in case of accidents. All she had to do was find it... and it didn't take her very long to do so. With a quick motion, she threw a kunai at a point where four of the wires met. Before it could reach, however, a hidden hand reached out and caught it.

"You won't win that easily," Udon muttered through his sniffles.

Futaba hesitated. "I would drop that, if I were you."

It was that moment that the explosive tag she intended to actually break the wires she wasn't sure her kunai could cut went off, knocking the sickly ninja into his own trap. More explosive tags went off, with varying degrees of power, until finally the entire trap was demolished... and Udon was lying on the ground. He coughed. "Uh... that was my best shot, and it failed. And I'm already hurt. And I didn't really want to do this, anyway, so is it okay if I quite now?"

Ebisu shook his head. There were some people who really shouldn't be ninjas, regardless of their skill level or family background, in his opinion. "Winner, Inuzuka Futaba."

Sitting in the stands, Inari snorted. "Man, that fight was stupid! It was so short, and he fell into his own traps. What an idiot!"

Naruto grimmaced. "Inari, that was probably a lot better of a fight then you realize."

"Huh?"

"I agree with Naruto-kun," Sakura replied to no-one's surprise. "We learned quite a lot about Udon in that fight."

"Like what -- he gives up too easily?"

"Yes," Naruto replied, nodding. "That is one thing. The other is that he's actually pretty good as a ninja. I was more impressed with him then with Futaba-chan in that fight -- although that's only because I didn't really get to see much of what the puppy girl could do. He does give up too quickly -- we'll have to get the closet pervert to work with him on that, so that he'll be better prepared for the next chuunin exam -- but he was actually in control of that fight from the very beginning. He made one small mistake and it cost him dearly, but he should have tried to recover anyway."

"His techniques in camouflage were quite good," Sakura pointed out. "And he was able to set out a series of traps in seconds, right before our eyes, without any of us noticing."

"Almost any of us," Adaha muttered from his seat.

"It caught Futaba-chan from the start, and he would easily have won if he'd just deflected that kunai away instead of caught it in his hand. The best Futaba-chan could have hoped for was a draw, if he was standing between her and her only chance of being released from her trap," the pink-haired kunoichi continued.

Inari looked dubious. "Are you really sure about that? I mean... he looked pretty pathetic out there, to me."

"Oh, he's not ready for the test, yet," Naruto snorted. "He_ is_ a bit pathetic. But he has some potential, there -- untapped potential, probably because the closet pervert never noticed it. His reports always seemed to ignore the boy for the most part."

"I think I might start teaching him a few of the combat techniques Tsunade-shishou taught me," Sakura mused. "He could use a few more weapons in his arsenal."

Both ninja had walked off under their own power, and the field had been cleared fairly easily once the dust had settled, so Ebisu's call for the next match prevented further discussion. "Next match... Hikigaeru Matsuri versus Hyakushou Nobori. Begin!"

Matsuri and Nobori stared across at one another, neither willing to move just yet. Finally, Nobori smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Matsuri-chan, I'm not going to fight you. You know why."

"Oh, come on!" she complained. "Just because we're dating doesn't mean we can't spar. Just treat this as a sparring match, at least!"

"But I don't want to hurt you--"

"Tough!" Matsuri snapped. "You've got two choices. You can fight me here... or you can just forget about ever going on another date with me. Got it?"

"Aw, Matsuri-chan..."

"You've got five seconds to attack me, Nobori-kun, or else we're through!"

The boy sighed. "If you insist, Matsuri-chan."

In less than a moment, he was in motion, tearing across the field so quickly he was leaving a dust cloud. Slipping under her attack, he tried to chop the girl on the back of the neck with electically-charged chakra. Sakura recognized the technique -- Tsunade had taught it to her -- but wasn't sure where the boy could have learned it. It was a medical ninjitsu whose purpose was to disrupt the nervous system and temporarily disable an opponent. It didn't hurt said opponent, but it would allow for a fairly safe follow-up to victory. It was a technique primarily used -- in combat -- to capture a target alive and intact... but in a tournament like this, it could also be used to essentially insure victory. Assuming it landed.

The panicked screams let her know right away that something horrible had gone wrong with the technique, as both genin were quite vocally shouting out about their distress. It took a few seconds for her to see why. Matsuri had, silently, applied the needle hair technique to herself before the battle started... and obviously, Nobori hadn't realized it soon enough. His arm was impaled on her hair, blood dripping from several places. Matsuri, tears in her eyes, was screaming apologies to her boyfriend while Nobori was simply screaming in pain. Truthfully, niether one was demonstrating the mental discipline a ninja should -- a little wound like an impaled arm occured quite frequently in combat missions, and so they should have been trained to block out the pain. Sakura recalled the briefing she had been given prior to heading for Blossom all those months ago -- both of these genin were on a team which would not have qualified under normal circumstances in Konoha. The files she had read while helping Naruto in his job running the village said more -- they had not been designed as a combat-oriented team. Instead, they were to be used mostly for class D missions and those rare C-class reconnaisance missions. Therefore, certain things such as an education in tolerating pain had never been given to them... which meant they were well out of their league in this tournament. And it also meant that a little wound like the one Nobori had could send him into shock, if something wasn't done about it.

Naruto obviously sensed it as well. "Go," was all he needed to say, and she was leaping to the field. Ebisu started to protest, but then realized that niether of the two genin would want to continue their fight after this. With gentle effort, Sakura removed the arm from he hair and patched it up. Naruto noticed there was no true medical ninjitsu being applied, although Sakura seemed to be demonstrating seals to Nobori as she talked with him in low tones.

Matsuri looked stricken, but Sakura soon grabbed her and lead both genin out of the stadium. Naruto sighed -- he'd enjoyed having Sakura in his lap (despite the initial discomfort -- or rather, awkward comfort -- of her settling into it) and knew this would be robbing some of their time together from him. Well, they'd had plenty of time with each other over the previous few weeks, so maybe they could afford it.

"That must have hurt," Inari noted. Adaha just nodded silently in agreement.

"Yeah, it does. I've had worse, but it hurts like hell. A ninja isn't supposed to scream like that, though..."

"Even when we're being hurt like that?" Adaha asked cautiously. "I'm not sure I could help myself."

Naruto smirked. "Well... you'll be trained to deal with pain like that. You should be able to deal with it. If I can handle having my lung impaled by my best friend, you guys should be able to deal with a little set of pinpricks like that."

"Er... just how are we going to be trained to deal with _that?_" Inari asked, incredulously. Naruto just cackled in response.

Sakura returned, stopping by Ebisu to whisper something in his ear before leaping back to Naruto's side. "Winner," the jounin announced. "Hikigaeru Matsuri. Next match... Haisha Kouji versus Akimichi Moegi. Begin!"

Kouji was less then pleased at his match-up. He would rather have faced _Hanabi _then this girl -- at least, he would now, when Moegi was clearly irrationally angry and likely to destroy anything that got in the way between her and her 'vengeance.' Considering he was 'in the way,' he wasn't exactly feeling very confident at the moment. Still, he wasn't a quitter, so he'd go ahead and fight, anyway. He just figured he didn't have much of a chance of winning.

"I'm really sorry about this, Kouji-kun," Moegi said, taking a stance facing the boy. "But you're in the way of my vengeance for Konohamaru-chan, so I'm afraid I can't afford to let you look good, this time."

"Hey, I don't need you to _let_ me look good," Kouji protested, getting a bit angry. Yeah, sure, she'd probably kick his ass... but not because she was really that much better then he was. After all, he'd been training for months, and he had improved so greatly that he'd felt he actually stood a shot at winning a slot in the chuunin exam. Now, he wasn't so sure about that -- not after having witnessed the fight between Hanabi and Konohamaru and realizing that he would be fighting for the third slot -- but he was definitely no pushover. "Kage bushin no jutsu!"

Up in the stands, Naruto frowned. Sakura noticed right away. "What's wrong?"

"Two things. First of all, he shouldn't know the kage bushin -- I sure as hell never taught it to him, and there aren't many others around here who could do it," Naruto explained. "Second... that's not a proper kage bushin."

"It isn't?" Sakura exclaimed, then looked at the field again. There were half a dozen more Kouji's standing in a circle around Moegi, just as there should be with a successful kage bushin. "It looks like it worked, though."

"That's because it's a varient," another voice said from behind them. Naruto and Sakura both blinked up as Ino walked down the steps to greet them. "Hi, guys -- sorry I'm late. I overslept after that dinner with the daimyo's staff last night."

"No problem," Naruto replied. "We've seen a few interesting matches, so far, though. But what's this about Kouji knowing a varient of _my_ kage bushin?"

"It's actually a varient of _my_ Naruto bushin," Ino replied with a smirk. The blond boy winced -- he'd always been rather embarrassed by that name. "I spent a few days dealing with that kid after... um, a certain incident that affected my job as liason to the daimyo." Everyone knew she was talking about the mission that resulted in the death of Genma. "I felt sorry for him because he said it felt as if he had nothing he could ever hope to use to protect the people around him, since even 'that silly girl' on his team could fight more effectively then he could, so I decided I'd give him that technique. It breaks some of the connections between the clones and the original that your ordinary kage bushin creates, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The clones can't fight as well, together, if they get seperated, but there's also less chance of battlefield confusion from too many sensory inputs. I probably should have given it a different name, but I couldn't think of one... and they _are_ all shadow clones, after all, just created with a different method."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I think I want to know a bit more about your changes, Ino-chan, before I can decide if it needs its own name or not. I--"

"Wow!" Inari exclaimed, drawing the attention back to the battlefield. "That's cool!"

Naruto was reminded of the first time he'd seen a demonstration of Rock Lee's speed, seeing the streaks of afterimage which marked where Moegi was as she destroyed the clones encircling her. The real Kouji just barely avoided being hit as she streaked by... and this appeared to be her natural speed. There was no indication of any lotus techniques being used, at any rate.

"How..." Kouji asked, astonished, once Moegi decided to pause her attack for a moment.

"You might notice that I'm a rather slender girl," Moegi pointed out, preening slightly. "I'm the thinnest girl in my clan for the last several generations. My clan typically puts on a lot of wieght, but I decided long ago to remain a sexy girl despite my heritage. By being born an Akimichi, I've had a few things I needed to overcome in order to maintain my figure, however. My clan has to eat ten times the amount of food a normal person typically eats, just to keep from starving... but instead of letting all of that food stay on me like the rest of my family, I started looking for alternatives. You might notice I'm more 'developed' then some girls my age -- well, that's where I'm letting what fat I can't get rid of go, but if that was all I did then I'd be bigger then the hokage in my chest... which would look a bit grotesque on a figure like this, no? Turns out that I can convert that extra fat into muscle and chakra. Which means I'm stronger and more energetic then just about anyone else in my clan... but that's not the only thing I've got.

"See, all that extra wieght would make the other members of my clan move too slow and sluggishly to be effective ninja, typically. So, we developed secret techniques to boost our speed using our chakra... techniques which, unlike the forbidden lotus techniques of the Maito clan, don't harm us in the long run. It's good enough to make an overwieght person move as fast as your average ninja... or to make a lightwieght person such as myself move with exceptional speed."

Kouji swallowed. He always had problem sparring with faster opponents, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. "So, is that all you can do? Move fast?"

Moegi grinned. In less then a second, she was inside his guard, snapping what appeared to be a powerful crescent kick at his head... only it really went over it. His mouth gaped open, seeing her hold her (bare) leg right over his head for several seconds. In fact, her leg was so high over his head that it was flashing her fishnet-style panties at him under her skirt. That little bit of 'peekaboo' wasn't that surprising -- she was reputedly a likely early-entry candidate into the courtesan training program, assuming she didn't get married before she turned the minimum age of sixteen, and she was known to try and 'anticipate' some of the lighter training when dealing with guys. Part of that included wearing clothing which seemed fairly conservative, but during a fight would occasionally reveal something... distracting. Konohamaru, upon seeing the matchups the previous day, had warned the boy of this -- apparently, she was even more agressive about it when fighting him... or rather, she didn't actually use anything _but_ those courtesan-training style techniques when sparring with the former hokage's grandson. She winked at Kouji, giving him just enough warning that he could (barely) manage to roll out of the way before the leg started coming back down into an axe kick. He leapt to the side to avoid the descending foot, landing on his back... only to go flying as the ground around him exploded.

Seeing the crater that the kick managed to leave in its wake, Naruto shook his head. "Sakura-chan... you haven't been teaching Moegi-chan, too, have you?"

"No... that's all her own technique," Sakura replied, sounding slightly dazed. "Which might grow to be stronger then Tsunade-shishou's and my own, if she keeps building her strength like that. And might land a bit more often when she grows up enough for those legs to _really_ distract the guys."

"No," Moegi said to Kouji, down on the field. "Of course that's not all I can do. But if you think I'm going to show off everything before I have my shot at Hanabi... well, you've got another thing coming. I am, however, going to let her see just how fast and strong I am... just so that she knows what she's in for. Now, let's end this, shall we?"

Kouji's eyes widened, and he shook his head. "I quit!" he called before she could do anything. "I... well, I don't think I've got much of a shot. I knew you were more experienced and better trained then I was in special techniques. I thought I might be able to manage something with taijutsu... but I don't stand a shot against someone with that much speed and strength. In a real fight, I'd know by now I was overmatched and have to either retreat or prepare to sacrifice myself in some futile battle for a nobler purpose -- like giving my friends a chance to retreat. This is just a friendly tournament, however. I can't run away, and I don't think fighting to the death has any meaning here... so like I said, I quit."

Moegi smirked at him, bowing slightly. "Why thank you, Kouji-kun. I guess I won't have to reveal any more of my techniques, will I?"

"Winner... Akimichi Moegi," Ebisu called.

As the two left the field -- on their own power -- Naruto shook his head. "I don't blame Kouji -- he didn't have a shot, wasn't really fighting for anything but the experience, and he knew it -- but he should be able to do better then that. He's not always going to be fighting people who he can beat with taijutsu... and I know from experience that, while the kage bushin is a very powerful technique, you need to do more with it then just create a bunch of clones and dogpile your enemy. Yeah, that can work, too... but not very often. You need to use that as a distraction, or just as a tool to assess your opponent's technique, or to misdirect your enemy from--"

"We get it, Naruto," Inari sighed. "Now shut up, the next match is about to begin... and Hanabi-chan's in it, so I'd like to see it."

"...Hyuuga Hanabi versus Mukade Daichi," Ebisu was announcing. "Begin!"

Hanabi sighed, glad she had a bit of a push-over for her opponent. Despite having played it off fairly casually, the match against Konohamaru had exhausted her spare chakra. She had shunted almost all of the energy she'd stored up in anticipation of the tournament into that one kaiten, way more then was needed -- largely because she had lost control when she had been groped -- and was paying for it now. One thing about her family techniques -- they required immense amounts of chakra, yet almost every move could have as much or as little chakra as the user would want to put into them. The one exception was the byakugan -- which she really didn't have the strength to use at the moment -- but that was it. However, regardless of how 'little' chakra she put into her techniques, they would drain her fairly quickly. She was hoping she could win solely with hand-to-hand techniques, and maybe with some rest she would have enough energy stored in order to actually be a match for Moegi during the next round.

Daichi was sweating, he was so nervous. This was _Hanabi_ -- a true legend among the genin from the most legendary clan in all of Konoha, if not all of the ninja world. He'd seen her in action, as well -- he'd been working alongside her for almost a full year, now, and wasn't exactly thrilled about his chances. His family, the Mukade, were once a branch of the Aburame clan long before the deal was struck between the Aburame and the insects to join as one. It was his intention to take the Mukade family notes and re-develop the Aburame techniques, but they were scattered, damaged, and not entirely useful. He had managed to decifer some techniques -- or at least, portions of techniques which he could make educated guesses about the completion of -- from those scrolls, but nothing extraordinary. Well, there was one thing which was sort of unique to his family -- although it wasn't quite as 'unique' as some clans could boast having -- but he had never been able to manage it. Yet, against Hanabi and her Hyuuga clan techniques... what choice did he have? He would have to try any number of things... but now, when his chakra was at its strongest, was the time to make the attempt at that one greater technique he knew. While it normally wasn't supposed to be used as an opening move, he was fairly certain that whatever chance he had to use it would be gone if he waited too long.

He pulled out a kunai, and stabbed his own hand with it. Making sure it was sufficiently covered in his blood, he took aim at Hanabi and threw. Not even bothering to track it in its flight, he started making symbols and slammed his hand down onto the ground. Hanabi dodged the blade, rolling away from it to land in a one-legged split and crouch -- almost a reverse cat stance. It was only then that she realized she had never been in any danger from the shuriken. It hadn't been thrown at her -- it had been thrown past her. Intentionally. She mentally cursed herself for expending so much chakra the previous match, as she would have known right away if she'd been able to afford the use of her byakugan. She wondered what Daichi was doing, however -- he had never thrown a shuriken stained in his own blood in any of the missions they'd previously had alongside each other. Just what was he doing?

She found out moments later, as he performed his technique. It was one she was familiar with, one many people were familiar with, but she'd never seen it performed quite this way.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Daichi called, his voice echoing throughout the arena. It sounded amplified, echoing off of all the walls and the stands so loudly it would have been impossible to determine where his voice was coming from if Hanabi hadn't been staring right at him. A massive cloud of smoke obscured the actual summoning, but whatever it was came into existence between Daichi's hand, still where it was from performing his seals, and the point of that shuriken he had thrown. When the dust settled, the creature was revealed.

"What the hell is that?" Hanabi screeched, unable to believe her eyes. Well, she knew what it was -- it just didn't seem real. After all, how many ten yard long centipedes does one encounter in the wild, anyway? Yes, she knew that it was possible to summon ninja creatures much larger then their 'wild' counterparts could grow to be, but... the sheer scale of the increase in size went beyond her imagination. And it was a bug -- she hated bugs! They were one of the few things which could slip through her byakugan, when they were small enough -- the Aburame clan had always terrified her for that reason, however much she would deny it to anyone who would ask (especially other members of her own family) -- and, well, they just _looked_ creepy. Especially when they were ten yard long centipedes!

Daichi didn't look too pleased, either. He marched right up to... well, Hanabi thought it was the thing's head, although it was kind of hard to tell on a creature like a centipede, and started yelling at it.

"You!" he snapped. "Why aren't you a swarm? I wanted a swarm, and all I got was one single oversized bug that's too large to do the kinds of things I need you to do. Where's the swarm I was promised?"

The creature turned its attention to the boy who'd just summoned it. A series of odd clicks and whistles seemed to come from it -- from where, no-one was quite sure -- that were oddly capable of mimicking a rather rough form of human speech. "Why want swarm?" it asked. "Why summon?"

Daichi sighed in frustration. "I am the first ninja of the Mukade clan in several generations, but in the past my clan has been among the elite. When I chose to become a ninja, I found my family's old scrolls detailing our techniques, and have been teaching myself how my family used to fight in ancient times. Among other things was a scroll detailing how to summon a swarm of your kind... but it said nothing about summoning a great beast like you. So, I say again, why aren't you a swarm, damn it?"

"Don't know," the creature replied, sounding about as purplexed as it could considering the unusual method it had for 'speaking.' "Why summon?"

"I'm engaged in a practice match with a fellow ninja," Daichi explained, his voice calming a bit as he realized he was yelling at something that could flatten him in seconds if it desired. "This was, admittedly, the first time I've ever attempted to summon even one of you in even a practice fight... but my scroll said I would be recieving a swarm of your kind to fight alongside me. I was expecting something a bit less... lethal, since I'm not actually intending to kill the friend I'm training with."

"Can make swarm," the creature explained, "But no smaller."

Daichi blinked, unable to understand what that meant. "I... well, why don't you? Let's see what I can do with you, since I do have you out."

Before everyone's eyes, the centipede seperated into every single part, and each part started growing to match the original creature's size. Soon, the entire floor of the amphitheatre -- as well as some of the unoccupied areas in the stands -- were covered with the creatures. Hanabi blinked. "Um... I may be a bit outmatched, here," she muttered to herself.

"You want to quit, already?" Ebisu asked, standing fairly close to her so that he could avoid being crushed by the great beasts.

"Uh... let me think about that for a bit."

Daichi was suitably impressed. "Wow... so, um, what else can you do?"

"Can spit fire or poison," one of the centipedes -- likely the one which had grown from the original's head segment -- explained. "Can move... fast."

"Right... can you fight a human without killing them?"

"Yes," The centipede replied. "But hard."

"Well... sorry about that, but this is just practice. See that girl, there? I want her knocked out... but not killed, got it?"

"Yes," came a chorus of the creatures as they all suddenly started descending on the Hyuuga girl.

"Shit!" Hanabi cried, then started shouting more and more expletives, in as many languages as she knew, as all of the centipedes started spitting poison at her. She just barely dodged, and began to realize she didn't have much of a chance in this match... unless she used more of her chakra. "I guess I don't have much choice. Byakugan! Kaiten!"

Using her enhanced vision, she started making precision strikes, sending the attacking insects away and using the tornadic motion of her chakra to prevent the poison from splattering on her as she spun to defend from all sides. She was regulating the use of her chakra as best as she could, but it was still draining from her rapidly. Thankfully, Daichi's summoned insects weren't so durable that they could widthstand too many blows, and soon the swarm had dissipated into the cloud of ninja smoke from which it came. She came out of her kaiten breathing heavily, though, and had lost the ability to maintain her byakugan shortly before the end of the fight.

"Not bad, Daichi-kun," Hanabi gasped out. "But I don't think you're going to win unless you've got more tricks up your sleeve I haven't seen yet."

Daichi glanced at her and nodded. "Well, I do... but it might not work. Katon! Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

Startled, Hanabi barely had time to duck before a massive fireball passed over her head, very nearly striking Ebisu behind her. "Fire element techniques? When the hell did you learn fire element techniques, and why haven't you been using them when we've been on a combat mission?"

Daichi smiled nervously. "Um... I've never actually tried them, before. I've only read about them, and I'm still not sure I did it right -- my scroll was missing a few parts, and I had to guess at what was missing."

"And you chose me to test them out on," Hanabi sighed. "Just what I didn't need."

A raft of kunai flew her way, forcing her to dodge... just as he launched another fireball that she collided with as she jumped away. She kept her mouth shut, reserving the energy she would use for screaming in pain so that she could still fight, and darted forwards through the flames fist-first. It gave her the victory, as she was able to make contact before he could react to seeing her emerge from the ball of flames -- which, while still hot enough to burn, wasn't apparently as hot as it should have been.

Hanabi struggled to her feet, glancing down at her fallen teammate. "You still able to fight?"

He didn't respond, having been completely knocked out. Ebisu walked over and examined the fallen genin. "Winner... Hanabi," he declared.

Hanabi smiled slightly. "Oh, good. Can I go to the hospital now?"

Up in the stands, Sakura sighed. "Looks like I'm needed again. I'll be right back."

As she jumped down onto the field, Inari and Adaha looked on in concern. Naruto noticed their expressions and smiled at them. "Hey, don't worry. Sakura-chan'll heal them both up, as easy as one, two, three."

Inari looked relieved, but Adaha was not. "Yeah," he said. "But... she still has to face Moegi-san. Will she be fit to fight?"

Naruto looked down at the field, where Sakura was performing some makeshift burn treatment all up and down Hanabi's arms. "Well... we'll just have to see, won't we?"

* * *

Notes: Remind me to never write a tournament, again. No, skip that -- tournaments are okay, just not when you're being distracted by a thousand other demands on your time. And I've still got another chapter of this tournament to go... sigh.

A technical term -- in martial arts terminology, a 'cat stance' is a sort of extreme back stance, where 90 percent or more of your wieght is placed on your back foot and your front foot just barely touches the ground. To the best of my knowledge, there is no name for the exact opposite of it (at least, none that I was taught in my time studying martial arts), so I used 'reverse cat stance.' If anyone knows of a more accurate technical word for that, please let me know.

I lost the paper on which I'd written some of the name translations I did for certain characters, which means the significance of their names has been lost to me in some cases. I only noticed this while attempting, on a forum, to type out brief character descriptions for them, so I went back and tried to rebuild the lost data. I've been able to reconstruct most (though not all)of the old list, but I figured that, in order to prevent this from becoming a problem again, I could give some of the translations of the new character names introduced here before I forget them. "Hikigaeru" is 'Toad' (as in toad master -- she is part of Jiraiya's clan, after all, even if tangentally). "Gekkou" comes from the character book -- I putUdon into the same clan as the late Gekkou Hayate, aka the preliminary third chuunin exam's sickly referee until he was killed. Curiously, it means 'Moonbeam,' although I have no idea what that has to do with that character. "Mukade" means 'centipede,' and the reasons for my givingDaichi that name should be pretty obvious by now.

Incidentally, this is the end of the mini-storyline I had involving Daichi and his relearning of the family techniques. He won't be disappearing from the story, exactly, but don't expect his attempts to rebuild his clan to show up again in any important way... in this fic. The same is true of some of the others you've seen in the tournament, here, as well. The sequel might be a different matter, considering it is a next-gen fic, but if you were expecting some sort of big, dramatic plot point to come from that... well, sorry, but this is it for now. I've got enough to deal with involving clan histories and that kind of thing between the resurrection of the Uzumaki clan Sakura's contemplating (heh) and the civil war in the Hyuuga clan. Please realize that a few of the 'minor' storyline points aren't exactly significant in this fic, but instead exist because I'm setting up a few things for the sequel to have to deal with. The troubles of some of these less-plot-significant genin and certain Academy students make up a large part of that set-up. I trust you'll be satisfied with the results, nonetheless.

Oh, and a definition for some people's clarification (nothing you'd find in a review, but I get e-mails). A shuriken is NOT a specific type of weapon -- the word refers to any type of throwing knife, including kunai, throwing stars, those big fuuma or 'windmill' shuriken, etc. Any blade designed to be thrown that is not also a hatchet-type or spear-type weapon is a shuriken. So no, I have not been making a mistake by referring to kunai as shuriken on occasion. If I were to refer to a tanto (samurai dagger), kodachi, wakizashi, or katana as a shuriken, that WOULD be a mistake, but calling a kunai a shuriken is not one. Just thought I'd clear that up.

Next Chapter: The conclusion of the tournament, and (at least some of) the repercussions thereof.


	43. V3 Chapter 33

Volume 3

Notes: Okay, something that has been brought up a few times before: Jutsu vs. Jitsu -- specifically, ninjutsu vs. ninjitsu. In every circumstance BUT 'ninjitsu,' I do intend to use jutsu. However, that's because every other instance I'm using the Japanese form of the word. However, 'ninjitsu' is English for 'ninjutsu.' It is a word which has been brought across to the United States, unlike 'genjutsu' or 'taijutsu,' and has been altered when translated. Therefore, while I feel 'genjutsu' and 'taijutsu' and 'bunshin no jutsu (for ex.)' should all be used, as they don't otherwise translate well, I much prefer 'ninjitsu' as the English form of the word. Now, as far as 'bunshin' v. 'bushin' goes... yeah, I've been making that mistake. I've been KNOWING that I've been making that mistake for the last twenty chapters or so... I suppose one could say I'm keeping it 'bushin' for consistency sake. If and when I go back and make revisions on this fic (which may or may not happen), I'll do a global search and replace for it... but, until then, I'm using my bastardized form of the word... for, as I just said, consistency.

Someone asked about the other Academy students I mentioned way back in the early going of this volume. Well, they haven't been forgotten -- in fact, a few of them are showing up again here, briefly -- but their importance isn't coming up until after this tournament is over. I've long planned to bring them back into the story upon their graduation from the Academy, but until then the only ones who are involved in the main storyline are (or were, rather) Inari and Adaha. A couple of them are being reintroduced briefly in this chapter, but mostly they won't be reappearing until after this arc is over. I haven't forgotten them, exactly, but I haven't really been able to juggle their 'just a reminder that they exist' appearances into the parts of the story I've already written without it seeming too forced.

I also have a question about the genin being able to summon and do things like kage bunshin. Well, kage bunshin (in this fic, at least) is NOT a kinjutsu -- it's just 'step one' on a scroll teaching said kinjutsu. I also figure that -- with good control and only a slightly higher amount of chakra then average -- a kage bushin is within the skill level of a normal genin -- otherwise, people like Zabuza -- who was unaware of Naruto's kyuubi enhancement -- would have been more surprised to see Naruto perform it. Please recall, also, that several of these genin are borderline chuunin. As far as whether summoning would be beyond the capability of a genin... well, remember that Temari -- while still a genin -- could perform a summoning. So, no, I don't see that out of the realm of possible abilities for genin who are borderline chuunin level, either.

Yes, Moegi's fishnet underwear is more or less see-through. It's also a bit of a, um, tribute to fashion in the Naruto manga -- most of the girl ninja (and a few of the guy ninja, like Shikamaru) in Naruto seems to be wearing a fishnet something visible outside of their clothes. Even Hanabi is seen wearing fishnet under her shirt in the manga. I think Kishimoto has a fetish or something... ahem. Anyway, if you're going for the 'distracting' sort of underwear, and you're a girl, what better to cover yourself with then the cheap, easily available, and certainly racy when used in the right spot material of fishnet?

I will not confirm or deny that Moegi will win that third slot, since that would be giving away what is about to happen in this chapter. I will say that (since Hanabi's skill is a given) all the remaining girls do have a shot at winning the tournament. Take this from Naruto's perspective:

Hanabi cannot be counted out, Futaba's definitely pretty good as he's seen from her experiences earlier in this fic, even if he didn't get to see much of her abilities in the first match, and Matsuri is a bit of an unknown who has some of the same techniques which made Jiraiya a legend (and which he knows by now, himself). Moegi is definitely at a level of combat ability that would qualify her to become a chuunin, however. So are all three other girls who made it this far. Udon's not there, yet, but he should be at that level soon -- perhaps not for his fighting technique, which is rather limited, but for his tactical ability. In other words, Udon's another Shikamaru in the making (god help us). Nobori is a medi-nin in training, and likely will be sent along that path to advancement just as Sakura was, but probably isn't ready yet. Kouji is dedicated like Naruto, but doesn't have the demonstrable tactics-on-the-fly thinking that Naruto did, nor any techniques or abilities to compensate for the lack of a kyuubi to make him the equal of Naruto was at this stage in his development, so probably is a ways away yet. Daichi is still struggling to learn his family techniques, and hasn't learned how to use them, yet, so he's not ready. Konohamaru -- despite his loss -- demonstrated good use of technique, sound tactical thinking, and a lot of power... as well as a bit of clumsiness, but he'll outgrow that. So, Hanabi, Konohamaru, Matsuri, Moegi, and Futaba all are vying for three slots. Udon should be ready by the time of the next exam. Daichi, Nobori, and Kouji, while all still well below the level of chuunin (in mental preparedness, at least, even if they have enough power already), seem to have all found a path to travel which is likely to get at least one of them ready soon. All put together, this tournament is telling him (and the readers, hopefully) a lot about the genin. As far as who will be going to that chuunin exam? Well... read and see, ladies and gentlemen...

* * *

Chapter 33

Naruto had written the rules for his pre-exam tournament as close to the rules of the chuunin exam's as he felt he safely could, which meant he only allowed a five minute break between rounds to treat the wounds and recover the energy that one needed to fight. Much to the amusement of many, all of the boys had already been eliminated, likely meaning that the team going to the exam would be composed of at least two girls. There were also a few... more salacious comments made about the circumstances.

"Hey! It's all going to be cat fights! Sexy!" came from the general area of one of the groups of Academy students in the crowd -- seemingly the voice of Komakai Chikan, the boy who had accidentally walked in on Sakura in the nude during their early days in Blossom. Naruto shook his head, wondering if maybe he should come up with some additional humiliation for the boy, just to remind him of what could happen when the boyfriends of the girls in question decided to take action. Apparently, being tricked into streaking across the village wasn't enough to cure the boy of being a pervert. Then again, the angry looks on the faced of both Inari and Adaha seemed to indicate that he'd be finding out, again, soon enough.

Watching the two students -- both of whom were in the top of their class (and, because they seemed to work well together, both of whom were likely to be placed on the same team once the students graduated) -- Naruto couldn't help but sigh. He wondered if Inari had picked up, yet, on the fact that Adaha's arranged marriage was to Hanabi... the girl Inari was courting. He also wondered what would happen when the girl who had the painfully obvious crush on the boy -- Ran Umiko, Naruto recalled -- found out about the relationship (and it was a relationship) between Hanabi and Inari.

Sakura finally returned to her place by Naruto's side, shaking her head as she came. "I don't know... I'm not sure she'll be up to fighting when the time comes."

"Hanabi?" Naruto asked. At her nod, he shrugged. "Well, that's okay, I suppose. She didn't really need to be in this tournament for me to know she should take the exam... but I think Moegi-chan'll be disappointed that she's lost her shot at 'revenge.'"

"Why can't she fight? Was she hurt bad?" Inari asked, looking concerned. Adaha also fretted, behind him, but remained silent.

Sakura grinned sympathetically at the two Academy students. "No. She had some bad burns and bruises, but I was able to fix that without any problems. However, she's exhausted her chakra -- simply summoning the byakugan would cause her to pass out, at this point, she's so low. If the fight between Matsuri and Futaba goes on long enough, maybe she'll regain enough strength to make an appearance... but she really only knows her clan's techniques, and all of the Hyuuga clan techniques involve the use of quite a bit of chakra. It would be pointless for her to fight."

"I'm not so sure of that, Sakura-chan," Naruto mused. "She might surprise you."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You haven't been teaching her things behind my back, have you?"

"Me?" Naruto snorted. "She wouldn't let me teach her anything, even if I wanted to. I think she's found another teacher, however."

Adaha's eyes narrowed. "She has? Who?"

Inari blinked, then squinted his own eyes at the other boy suspiciously. "Why do you care?"

_Uh oh,_ Naruto thought, realizing that Inari had just noticed Adaha's interest in the Hyuuga girl. "Oh, look," he called out as a distraction, his voice almost cracking with stress. "Ebisu's back. The tournament must be about to restart."

"The first match of this next round," Ebisu called, "Is between Inuzuka Futaba and Hikigaeru Matsuri. Ready? Fight!"

Matsuri was rattled. There was no other way of describing her at the moment -- she had just nearly destroyed beyond repair the arm of her boyfriend (well, really, it wasn't that bad -- at least, not according to Sakura -- but it didn't look that way to Matsuri when she finally realized what had happened), and was now about to fight a match against another girl who was one of her better school friends. She hoped she didn't do anything quite so catastrophic, this time, but... well, it was a fight. People were bound to be hurt in a fight. Usually, those people didn't include Nobori, but she would have to learn to deal with it... starting now.

Futaba looked across at her opponent, concerned. "Are you all right, Matsuri-chan? Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Yeah," She sighed, not exactly happy about being asked. Maybe she was a bit upset, still, but she was a trained ninja, too -- she could deal with being upset.

"Well... if you're sure," Futaba replied, taking up a stance. Unlike her previous match, she had brought Gonta into the the ring with her... but she nevertheless hoped to win without him. However, she knew that Matsuri could pose something of a challenge, so perhaps she should use one of the 'extra' weapons in her arsenal. That decided, she pulled out a soldier pill, chewed it up, and swallowed it. "Let's rumble, then."

Matsuri winced. In their Academy class, there were a few standouts. Hanabi was considered the top of their class, but she wasn't actually in their class -- she had taken an equivalency exam, and her placement was based on that. Below her, Futaba was just about the top kunoichi... and Matsuri was pretty near the bottom. Matsuri had improved since those days, but given the company Futaba had been keeping these past several months it seemed rather likely she had, as well. A plain, normal Futaba -- without the aid of soldier pills or Gonta the dog or anything else -- might be beatable. A high-powered Futaba, juiced up on soldier pills and with her dog at her side, on the other hand... well, she'd have a hard time putting up a fight, at least.

Before she had a chance to do anything -- even her usual practice of sharpening her hair into spiked armor -- the Inuzuka girl was upon her, somehow outflanking her and striking her from behind. Matsuri wasn't sure what she was hit with -- a tsuuga, most likely, considering the spin she felt in the attack -- but it sent her flying across the floor to land face-first in a tree. Fortunately, even without hardening it her hair provided an adequate cushion to keep her from being knocked unconscious... but she decided to feign it for a few seconds while she regrouped and recollected her senses.

Futaba seemed to sniff the air for a few seconds before grinning. "Come on, get up, Matsuri-chan. I know you're faking."

Wincing, the other girl rolled onto her feet. "And just how the hell did you figure _that_ out? Surely you can't tell if I'm awake or not by smell."

"Not exactly," Futaba agreed. "Although you'd be surprised just how different in strength the odors a person gives off can be when they are asleep, sometimes. However, I don't just have a dog's sense of smell... I can also obtain a dog's sense of hearing, as well, using the same techniques. It's very hard to hide just how hard your heart is beating, did you know that?"

"Never even thought of it," Matsuri admitted, quietly pulling a near-invisible wire from out of her hair. "But if you're using that sort of technique, then your hearing must be exceptionally sensitive, musn't it?"

She grabbed the wire in her other hand, pulled it tight, and plucked it with her pinky. The chakra-amplified sound which echoed out was much louder then the plucked wire had any right to generate. The technique was easily recognized by some of the older jounin and Jiraiya -- many of the sound-based techniques Orochimaru had trained his village in had originally come from Konoha, including this one -- but its use had become quite unfashionable since the Sand-Sound War. Apparently, however, not all genin were ignorant of it...

Futaba clutched at her ears in pain, nearly falling to her knees as the deep base tones came out of that one wire. She almost looked ill, and had to close her eyes and swallow to keep from vomiting. Grinning, Matsuri stepped forward, intending to finish things off while she had the advantage. It would be simple -- one last pluck, then a quick snap-kick to the jaw. That would knock Futaba out with no problems.

"Grr," came an inhuman growl from behind her. "Let... mistress... alone!"

Matsuri spun, to find Gonta doing the growling -- in a tongue that was just barely understandable by normal human ears, but the key there was _understandable_ -- and leapt back. As she went, she dragged the heel of her foot into the Inuzuka girl, hoping that would be enough damage to at least prevent her from losing her advantage. Gonta jumped on her, however, tackling her to the ground before she could see what -- if any -- damage she had done. She shoved the animal away, rolling to a crouching position... but stopped when she felt the dagger point pricking the back of her neck.

"I'd resign, if I were you," Futaba suggested from behind her.

"Um... okay," she replied hesitantly.

"Futaba wins," Ebisu announced. He waited for the two -- well, three, if you counted the dog -- to leave. No need for medical attention this match... but he greatly feared what would happen during the next. Moegi was obviously pursuing some sort of vendetta against the Hyuuga girl, and Hanabi... well, assuming Hanabi even had enough energy left to fight, she'd not likely back down very easily. This... wasn't going to be pretty.

Up in the stands, Naruto did his best to assess the match that had just taken place. "Hm... the puppy girl's actually a little more advanced then Kiba was at this point of his career," he mused.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, curious.

"When Kiba and I had our chuunin exam match, he couldn't enhance his hearing like she can. He also hadn't trained his dog to talk by then," Naruto explained. "Hana-chan's done a good job teaching Futaba-chan the family techniques."

Sakura nodded slowly. "I can see what you mean, but... how do you know that Kiba never knew that technique? He might have just never used it around you or something..."

"No, he didn't know it," Naruto answered. "He was a bit upset with himself for not knowing it, and he told me so, when we were both in the hospital together. He thought it would have given us the edge we needed to succeed if he'd had it while we were chasing Sasuke. I don't know how, but..."

"I think all five of you -- no, make that six of you, since Lee-kun joined you later -- had a lot to come to terms with after that mission," Sakura noted sympathetically. "You lost your best friend -- and you felt you had failed me, even though it wasn't you but Sasuke who had failed. Chouji and Neji both came so close to death they shouldn't have survived. Kiba apparently didn't think he had trained hard enough, if what you say is true. Shikamaru thought he was a failure as a leader because--"

"Shikamaru wasn't qualified to lead a mission of that type," Naruto sighed. "He's brilliant, but if someone's able to press their advantage against him he'd crumble -- he needs time to think strategically. He's just not a front-line officer. He should have been busy trying to organize supply chains and engaging in diplomatic missions, especially as green as he was, not leading combat missions against the elite guard of Konoha's greatest enemy."

"Tsunade-shishou couldn't send anyone else," Sakura rebuked. "He was the only commander available."

"I don't blame the old hag," Naruto replied, shrugging. "She only had word of mouth about Shikamaru's 'brilliance' in the tactics department and a serious lack of manpower. She let him pick his own team, and he picked the best he could... but he shouldn't have been put in charge because he wasn't suited to the mission. Anyone who had seen his fight against Temari knew he'd make an excellent officer, after all, but that's probably all they would have told her. They wouldn't have pointed out that his weaknesses would make him best suited to behind-the-front-lines type of work. He should have been told to relieve someone -- Gai-sensei, perhaps, or possibly even Iruka-sensei -- so that _they_ could lead the mission. He... understands this, now, I think. That's why he's been volunteering for diplomatic work and Academy stuff since we got back, and had refused to take the jounin exam for so long."

"What mission is this you two are talking about?" Adaha asked.

Inari, however, had another question. "You... you failed a mission, Naruto?"

Sakura faked a laughed. "He's failed lots of missions."

"But... but..."

"Most of them class D. Hey, why is that really so surprising? It's not like it was a few hundred years ago," she continued. "We don't kill ourselves if we fail. If we did, think of how many ninja we'd be losing every time a lost cat managed to stay lost?"

"But you--"

"I was killed," Naruto finally said. "For a moment, anyway -- I have something resembling a bloodline limit which brought me back, but first I was mortally wounded and then I died. For a split second, anyway..."

Sakura winced. Even she hadn't been quite aware of that, although she suspected it after learning a few things from kyuubi about just how bad the battle with Sasuke had been. "It was a one-on-one battle between Naruto-kun and Sasuke," she explained. "Sasuke had become a missing nin, and Naruto was trying to retrieve him. The memory... isn't exactly pleasant for either of us, you know."

"How could you have been killed?" Adaha asked, gaping at him. "You're breathing, aren't you?"

"A person can be revived from clinical death as long as their brain continues to function," Sakura pointed out. "Not quite sure my boyfriend's brain, here, has ever been functioning--"

"Hey!"

"But he does have a very advanced healing ability which can revive him, on occasion."

Naruto grinned ruefully at her joke, then said, "I've been dead a few times in my life. I died once fighting Kabuto, and twice while fighting Sasuke, and... well, there were a few times I would have wished I was dead while training under ero-sennin, but I suppose those don't count."

"Kabuto?" Sakura said. "I know you first performed a proper rasengan when fighting that guy, but I hadn't heard about what he did to you..."

"I don't really remember," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "I know I was actually closer to _really_ dying with him then I was against Sasuke. It took both the old hag and, uh, my powers in order to restore me from Kabuto's attack. When I fought Sasuke, I only had a broken neck and a failed heart, and I was able to heal that myself... well, um, sort of. I wound up having to stay in the hospital for longer then I ever have in my life, afterwards, because of what that did to my chakra system."

As the two of them talked, Adaha and Inari's faces both got more and more horrified. They both had hero-worshiped Naruto since he helped save the bridge which had, in turn, saved Wave Country. They both knew he hadn't had a perfect life, but niether had realized just how much pain he had gone through to get to where he was. There were also the rumors about how the people of Konoha had treated him since his birth -- Inari, in particular, remembered hearing Kakashi's stories of his growing up. They had assumed, however, that things had gotten better since becoming a ninja... but if so, then just how bad had life been that actually fighting until he was dead -- and coming back again -- could be considered a step up?

They all were saved from either hearing -- or talking -- more on Naruto's life and deaths and returns to life when Ebisu finally came forward again. "Sorry for the delay -- we needed a medical report before we could decide how to continue. The next match will pit Akimichi Moegi against Hyuuga Hanabi. Are both fighters ready?"

Normally he would not ask with quite so much meaning. Moegi, of course, had been ready for quite a while, and so her readiness could be assumed... but Hanabi was a definite questionmark. The Hyuuga girl had two choices -- say she was ready, and take her chances with a bare minimum of chakra, or say she wasn't... and forfiet. She wasn't fighting for anything substantial, so perhaps the forfiet made more sense... but pride was definitely at stake. Also, there was the matter of Moegi's anger -- while it was mostly just a plot, and almost everyone realized that, nothing short of a fight would exorcise that bitterness, now. It was fight now... or fight later. And now, there was some control involved that would help prevent the girls from killing each other in the fight.

To Hanabi's mind, however, there was no choice. Her answer was out almost before Ebisu could ask the question. "Damned straight, I am," she said.

Her attitude was mostly bluster. She knew that she was essentially defenseless in this fight -- she couldn't use the byakuugan, couldn't use the kaiten, couldn't even use most of her jyuuken-style taijutsu, since it largely involved the precise release and control of chakra and was much less effective without the vision granted by her chakra-using eye techniques. In essence, she had... almost nothing. She might be able to conjure up enough chakra for, say, a lone bushin, henge, or kawarimi technique -- she could actually generate chakra faster then she would use it with those three techniques. She also had some shuriken techniques shared by standard Konoha-style taijutsu and her clan's jyuuken, plus... plus a few simple taijutsu moves that she would be rather embarrassed to admit that she couldn't have performed had Inari not been training with her for a couple of days... and there really wasn't really enough time to learn much of that taijutsu while also learning the henge and kawarimi techniques. She had, however, decided she would fight, regardless -- whether for pride or for other reasons, even she wasn't sure -- and, as a great military mind once said, when you were weak, project strength.

If Moegi was at all intimidated by her bluff, however, she wasn't showing it. If anything, the smirk she had been wearing grew, as if she knew that it was a bluff. "Oh, yes," she purred, almost licking her lips in anticipation. "I'm ready."

By this point, Konohamaru had been released from the hospital and had made his way into the stands. "Hey, chief -- anywhere to sit with up here? Moegi-chan'd kill me if I missed her fight."

Naruto shrugged -- the stands were pretty much full, all over, so it wasn't any worse anywhere else. "No, there isn't, but I think we'll forgive you if you sit in the aisle. Fair warning, though -- I think the two Academy students next to you are loyal to your girlfriend's opponent."

"Moegi-chan isn't my girlfriend!" the genin protested, then looked mildly abashed. "Well... um, actually, I take that back. Yes, she is, but... uh... well..."

"Begin!" Ebisu called, stopping his protests.

It started as a stare down. Neither girl seamed willing to make the first move, which was just fine for Hanabi. The longer she had before she had to fight, the more time she had to recover just that much more chakra. When the attack came, it would be powerful and sudden... and there wasn't much Hanabi could do about it. She certainly couldn't strike first -- she didn't have any offensive techniques available to her outside of a tiny bit of taijutsu which needed to be saved for just the right moment. In short, she didn't have a shot at winning this battle... but she'd sure as hell put up as much of a fight as she could.

Moegi smirked. "Seems my Konohamaru-chan really put you through your paces. Not got much left, do you?"

"He didn't exactly 'put me through my paces,' Moegi-chan," Hanabi replied slowly, keeping as close an eye on the other girl as she could without using the byakugan. "I just overdid it when fighting him."

"Huh," Moegi hummed. "Not sure I believe you, there. Even so... you're exhausted. Weakened. Too weak to fight that battle again... and I am even stronger then my Konohamaru-chan."

Up in the stands, Konohamaru winced. Naruto glanced at him briefly. "I've never seen her fight before this tournament. Is that true?"

"Well... sort of. She's got about ten times the speed, double the strength, and just about the same amount of chakra as I do," Konohamaru admitted. "She also beats me whenever we spar..."

Naruto grinned. "I can hear a 'but' coming..."

"But I kinda... let her win," he finished. "It's a lot easier letting her win then dealing with her when she loses."

Inari, overhearing the conversation, frowned. "Sometimes... it's better for the girl if she knows she needs to know more. It's better if she knows you can beat her. Assuming you can, that is..."

"Oh, I can beat her," Konohamaru answered, grinning. "But... if you're going by pure power, she's definitely stronger then I am. If you're going by technique... well, that's a bit of a wash between us. She's a bit... inconsistent, though, with her performance. I do 'challenge' her more, when I see her getting sloppy, but... well, I just have a hard time trying to win against her. She knows I always fight her with some of my better techniques 'handicapped,' so I think she realizes I can beat her."

Naruto paused, then glanced at the girl in his arms, who seemed a bit amused. "Sakura-chan... if you and I were in a sparring match, would you _want_ me to let you win?"

"No!" Sakura replied forcefully.

"Hm... but wouldn't it bother you to lose all the time?" he asked.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "First off, I wouldn't lose 'all the time,' buster -- while I know you're more advanced as a ninja then I am and probably better then I could ever hope to be, I know that if I kept sparring with you long enough, I'd eventually figure out some flaw I could use against you. Second, I'd like the challenge, and if I thought the challenge of facing you was too much I'd probably ask you to limit yourself in some way to give me a fighting chance. But I'd never want you to let me win... hell, I wouldn't _let_ you let me win."

Naruto nodded. "Thought so. Konohamaru... there you have it, straight from the mouth of another girl. Letting her win might not be what she wants."

A very odd expression showed itself in reply. "Maybe not... but I'm not really just letting her win by choice. I... well, I understand how your perverted ninjitsu works, now. Moegi-chan uses it -- or at least something very like it -- on me all the time. That's why I let her win."

Sakura turned pink, then laughed. "Well, yes, that's one way to win." She grinned slightly at Naruto. "Maybe you and I should spar together more often... but without an audience like we normally have, huh?"

On the field, the two combatants once again managed to save Naruto from a rather awkward situation. Moegi had charged in, moving at speeds not many genin could match. She launched herself into the air only a couple of steps from making contact, intending to tackle the other girl into the ground, but her target moved in the last second. Instead, she stuck her arm out, intending to clothesline the other girl.

Her arm passed right through Hanabi -- or rather, Hanabi's image. "A bushin?" she gasped. Before she even landed, she felt a kunai dig into her arm. Moegi landed, rolled, spun, and presented a more defensive crouch to her opponent.

Hanabi stood there, a rather stoic expression on her face. "Speed is a great advantage," she said. "However, with no control, speed can do more harm then good."

Moegi grit her teeth, pulling out the now bloody dagger. It was a very minor wound, given that it had to first pierce the leather armor taped onto her arm, but it stung... and so had the comment. She knew that, but had let her temper get the better of her... again. Konohamaru had been working with her, on that, but it didn't seem to be working too well. However, the wound was so minor it didn't cause her any problems, and she still had a significant advantage. Making sure to maintain more control over her body, she once again rushed the other girl, sending a powerful punch her way.

It connected, and she definitely hit something solid... and pierced through it. For one horrified moment, Moegi feared she had actually killed the other girl -- something she was definitely not attempting to do -- but then she realized that there wasn't enough blood. Something was wrong. A puff of smoke, and the Hanabi in front of her dissolved into one of the hard-packed balls of earth which had been torn up from the landscape during the previous matches. "A kawarimi!" Moegi exclaimed, realizing what had happened. She pulled her fist from the mound of dirt and glanced at it. Her hand had become badly scratched up, and was bleeding from several places... nothing serious, but definitely irritating.

Hanabi was actually about twenty paces away, facing her flank. Another brace of kunai was just barely dodged. "Great strength is also a powerful advantage," she proclaimed. "However, unless you are sure of hitting your target, expending so much strength can leave you vulnerable."

Moegi's eyes narrowed, and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. She reached over and picked up one of the discarded kunai, throwing it as hard as she could at her opponent. She followed it in, deliberately slowing herself so as to give the shuriken a chance to prove to her that the image in front of her really was of Hanabi. The kunai passed right through the image, and immediately Moegi knew it was another illusion. She pulled herself to an immediate stop, and started looking around as fast as she could for where the other girl might have gone.

An apparent rock behind her morphed into the Hyuuga girl and threw a powerful kick into her back. Moegi was sent tumbling, her eyes widening. "Henge," she huffed.

"Stealth is our primary advantage as ninja, however," Hanabi declared with finality. "Someone who can hide well enough... can strike against any enemy, whether they are stronger and faster or not. I may not be at my strongest, right now, but strength is a luxury. I may be slower then you, but unless you know exactly where I am and what I am doing, that speed is useless."

Up in the stands, Inari and Adaha were cheering so loud their voices almost went out. "Yeah! Alright!" Inari screamed. He turned and shoved a finger in Konohamaru's face. "Seems _my_ girl is making mincemeat of _your _girl!"

Adaha froze, glancing at Inari. "Your... girl? Um..."

Konohamaru had merely raised an eyebrow calmly. "I suggest you keep watching the battle. You might learn something."

Moegi was standing up slowly, rubbing her back. "Actually, Hanabi-chan... you're wrong."

Hanabi frowned. "Wrong?"

"Stealth isn't a ninja's primary advantage," Moegi said. "It's merely a component of it. The true primary of a ninja isn't stealth... it's surprise!"

With that, the girl in front of her disappeared into a mound of dirt, crumbling before her eyes. Hanabi's eyes widened. "An earth clone?" She spun around frantically, trying to determine where the attack was coming from. She didn't see anything. If only she could activate her byakugan.

"Nikudan sensha!" came Moegi's battlecry, although from where the other girl couldn't say.

A shadow started covering Hanabi, causing her to glance up. "Oh... crap."

Unable to dodge in time, the full wieght of the cannonball-like Moegi crashed down upon her, slamming her into the ground and knocking the breath out of her. The ball rolled off of her, deflating into the ninja girl she knew. "God, I hate using that technique... now, Hanabi-chan. I think I've gotten my revenge, and you seem down for the count. Do you want to keep fighting or what?"

Hanabi struggled to get up, but the strength in her arms and legs failed her. Yes, she could have kept fighting, could have managed one more move which likely would have beaten Moegi... but to do so, she would have to exhaust her remaining chakra. To do so would hospitalize her for a week... and she'd miss the tournament anyway. No... just as she'd decided before she started the match, she couldn't use her family techniques here.

"I could still win," Hanabi observed, rolling into a sitting position. "But it would be a pyrrhic victory, for I would lose more then I could hope to gain if I did what I need to do. So... I concede. Good fight, Moegi-chan."

"Winner... Akimichi Moegi," Ebisu said.

"What's this about Hanabi-chan being your girl?" Adaha demanded of Inari once the battle was over.

Inari blinked. "Um... well, we've been dating for a couple months, now. Why?"

Adaha's eye twitched. "Dating? That... you aren't allowed to date her! She... she..."

Inari's eyes narrowed. "I'm not, am I? And just why is that?"

"She's my fiance!" Adaha snapped.

Inari's mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally found his voice. "But she never said anything!"

Adaha deflated slightly, sighing. "Well... she might not know. It's, ah, an arranged marriage. Her clan wants me to marry back into it, as my ancestors once were a part of theirs... um, I..."

"Which member of her clan contacted you?" Naruto asked, suddenly very interested. He hadn't wanted to get involved in the conflict, but he was very concerned about the Hyuuga clan and what they might be doing.

"I... um, had two seperate clan leaders contact me," Adaha explained. "Her father, Hiashi-san, and... someone who would only go by 'Hyuuga-san.' They sent me letters -- I've never seen either of them face to face. I, uh, had assumed Hanabi-chan had asked her clan to make the arrangements for her."

"Her clan is currently involved in a three-way civil war," Sakura pointed out. "They may be trying to use you to influence her to pick one side or the other."

"Hyuuga-san is her mother," Naruto added. "She and Hiashi are two of the three factions' leaders. The third... wouldn't be involved in this kind of thing." He paused. "Hanabi-chan is to be allowed to make her own decision in this matter, while she stays here in Blossom. Niether of you are to fight over this -- you can both attempt to, um, date her or whatever, but don't bicker with each other over it. I suspect that there's more to this 'arrangement' then meets the eye, although perhaps it's nothing you need to worry about."

Adaha hesitated. "Does this mean... my arranged marriage is a fraud?"

Naruto glanced at Sakura, who shrugged. "What? How am I supposed to know?" she asked.

"I... think there's no way of telling until the civil war is over," Naruto said. "And I'm not sure Hanabi-chan would go along with it, even if she was. Clan affiliation means nothing in Blossom, you know, so... she is not obligated to obey her clan's instructions. Unless she chooses to."

Inari looked upset. "Hanabi-chan and I have been dating for months, and you've never even shown the slightest interest in her," he snapped at Adaha. "What makes you think you have more of a right to her then me?"

"I said not to fight over this!" Naruto ordered. "Hell. You two are friends -- it's possible this arranged marriage was put in place in order to... well, complicate things here in Blossom. I get the feeling at least some of the Hyuuga aren't exactly very happy with the way this village has been set up."

"But--" they both protested.

"No buts! Inari, Adaha... you'll just have to let Hanabi make her own choices. You are forbidden from stopping Inari from dating her, Adaha... and Inari, the same goes for you. Adaha has the right to approach her, inform her of the arrangement, and ask her to go out on dates with him. And you are to _remain_ friends. I realize that, with Hanabi between you, that may prove difficult... but whatever it is that's going on, we cannot allow it to damage Blossom. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" the two students acknowledged. They glared at each other briefly, but then Inari sighed and stuck out his hand. "I guess that it's not either of our fault -- nor is it Hanabi's. And I'd like to keep you as a friend... so I'm not going to let this get between us. How about you?"

Adaha hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah... I suppose I won't, either."

Grinning, Naruto clapped both on the back. "Good! Now, let's watch the next match. Hanabi-chan really impressed me despite losing the last match... but then, Moegi-chan did, too. Why don't we see how she does this round, huh?"

Inari paused, then smirked at Konohamaru. "Yeah, let's see how this guy's girl does when she's fighting someone who hasn't already worn herself out."

Konohamaru blinked. "Hey, Moegi's good. Your Hanabi-chan's probably a little better, when they're both fresh, but Moegi-chan's good. Just watch! You'll see..."

"I wouldn't overlook the puppy girl, if I were you," Naruto chimed in. "I've been on a couple missions with her, and I fought her once, and I've even helped her train a little when we were both working with Hana-chan. She's not half-bad, you know."

Konohamaru froze. "Do you think Moegi-chan's going to lose?" he asked very hesitantly.

Naruto considered the question for a second before shrugging. "I dunno. It should be a great match, though."

A loud explosion drew their attention to the field, where the next fight had already begun. "_Is_ a great match," Inari corrected softly, awestruck. "Wow!"

A six foot wide impact crater showed where Moegi's fist had hit the ground moments before, but niether girl was anywhere near that spot any more. Moegi was using all the speed she'd already demonstrated and then some, but Futaba was still able to avoid her. It seemed they were practically equals in speed. Power... well, that was definitely another matter.

As the ground exploded underneath her for the sixth time, Futaba cried, "So how much of the landscape are you planning to tear up before you try something else, huh?"

Moegi smirked. "Well, you haven't shown me I need to try anything else, yet. It's rarely wise to show all your hand until you have to..."

"You want me to prove you need to do more? Fine!" Futaba growled, coming to a complete stop. The next time a punch came her way, she ducked inside of it, grabbed Moegi by the arm, and spun in an elbow that collided with Moegi's jaw as she flew over the Inuzuka girl's shoulder.

Moegi was startled, and barely had the composure to adjust in mid-air to land on her feet. A tsuuga crashed into her the moment she did, however, sending her flying back into the wall, which she bounced off of before another powerful elbow slammed into her gut. She coughed once and fell into a kneeling position.

Futaba backed off, grinning arrogantly. "I could win it now, you know," she taunted. "But I don't think either of us have..."

Her voice trailed off as Moegi stood up, smirking slightly. "Is that all you can do?" she laughed. "I won't say that didn't hurt... but I've had worse sparring with Udon-kun. Keep trying! I'm sure I'll feel it after the tenth or twentieth time you've hit me in the exact same spot."

Eyes widening, Futaba called "Gonta!" The dog darted from its hidden location, running towards his human partner as fast as he could. The girl pulled two soldier pills out of her pocket, tossing one to Gonta and trying to take the other herself. It was time for the power boost her beast-human fusion techniques could accomplish. Niether soldier pill reached its intended destination, however. The pill she'd tossed to the dog had vanished in mid-air, and the one she'd planned to take she had to drop when a kunai stuck itself into her hand. "Ah!" she cried in pain.

Moegi stood in the path of her toss, ignoring Gonta as he darted by her to examine the little grey pill in her hand. "Interesting," she mused. "These little pills your clan uses so much... were you aware that they were created by my own? In and of themselves, they aren't really strong enough to last one of us for even a minute -- in order to get pills that were useful for us, we had to develop stronger pills -- more dangerous pills. For you and most other ninja in the world, however, these little things can keep you going for days on end." She popped the pill into her mouth. "I don't need a full minute, however, to take care of you, so this little thing will do. Baika no jutsu!"

"Oh... crap," Futaba gasped, staring as the girl in front of her -- and, somehow, her clothing -- started growing right in front of her eyes. "Gonta, take the pill I dropped! Hurry!"

In the stands, Naruto started to extricate himself from his seat. "This... could be bad."

"Why?" Sakura asked, clutching at him to avoid falling out of his lap as she noticed his growing panic.

"Because the roof is shorter then the height Moegi-chan should grow to if she's executing this technique right, so she might knock it down... and right on top of our head," he explained, gathering his chakra to his hand. "I may have to do something fast, so let go for now. I need to be standing."

Sakura released him, standing so that he could get up and move around on his own. He kept his eyes on the growing girl on the stage, and got his hands ready to start making seals. Sakura stood by him, wondering if there was anything she could do to help. Once he was in whatever position it was he was trying to get to, however, he seemed pretty confident in himself.

Ebisu, however, was the referee... and one of the more important jobs a referee had in a ninja tournament was to protect the spectators. "Watch the cieling!" he called, knowing there wasn't much he could do if she were to literally hit the roof.

Moegi heard the warning at the last moment, ducking her head less then a second before it would have collided with one of the steel support beams. She bent her knees out, lowering her profile so that she could stand and move around with no danger of collision. This caused... something of a stir in the stands.

"Um... Konohamaru-san, why doesn't your girlfriend wear any panties underneath that fishnet?" Adaha asked, mesmerized, over the bawdy cheers and whistles coming from certain individuals in the stands.

Konohamaru blushed. "Um... I have no idea. It's, ah, got something to do with distracting her enemies. That and, well, while she sometimes pretends she is for people she doesn't know, she's not exactly very shy..."

"That's... a pretty good distraction," Inari admitted, also unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle.

On the field, Moegi grinned. There was nothing Futaba could do to her now... she'd achieved a level most Akamichi didn't manage until they'd been become jounin, and she knew that Futaba was pretty average for an Inuzuka female of her age. Well, maybe a little better then that -- she knew that both of the Inuzuka in Blossom had been helping Naruto to train, and she was more aware then most in Konoha that Naruto was a pretty impressive person to be training with. Still, she can't have improved that much.

"Gatsuuga!" came the cry from below her, right before a powerful double hit -- at least fifty times stronger then the previous tsuuga she had felt -- crashed right into her jaw. She only had a few more seconds of lucidness before she realized that, in increasing her power so heavily, she'd also given her enemy that much more of a target. She'd known that, of course, but she'd believed that she was in no danger considering how insignificant the previous blow had been. A definite miscalculation on her part... and one which, it seemed, would cost her the tournament. The last thing she saw before blacking out was the approaching stadium seats...

In the stands it was chaos. Moegi was about to fall right on top of them, and despite the fact that several of them were trained ninja they could still be crushed if something the size of her were to drop upon them. Even Sakura was panicked -- she might be able to avoid being hurt, thanks to Tsunade's training, but there were so many others who didn't have the strength to lift the bulk of the oversized girl off of them. Naruto might not be able to, for example. She looked at him in distress, wondering if she could protect him. There he was, standing in front of everyone, and he was... performing seals?

"Doton!" he intoned, his voice echoing over the clamor of terrified spectators. "Doryuuheki!"

Whatever it was he was doing seemed to just add to the panic, as the earth under them all seemed to start to tremble. Then, however, Sakura saw what technique he was performing, as a giant wall of earth started lifting itself out of the ground, imposing itself between the audience and the impending disaster. A loud, rumbling crash sounded as the girl slumped against the wall and slid out of view, quickly followed by the ground shaking yet again, knocking dust and pieces of debris from various places, and even more screaming and shouting. The panic seemed to grow, even as the threat ended, until Naruto leapt up on to the wall he had just created.

"Everybody, just shut the hell up!" his voice boomed. That stopped everyone cold -- while Naruto was known to be a bit coarse at times, he was rarely _that_ coarse unless he was angry. "Okay, this match is over, and..." He glanced behind him, sighing. "And it's a draw -- both competitors have knocked each other out. Go home, everybody, it's over. My decision on the chuunin exam will come later today. Sakura-chan? I think there are a few patients over here for you. Hana-chan? I think we have need of a vet, too."

Sakura leapt to his side, and as the spectators slowly came back to their senses they started mulling around trying to leave. Conversation was generally subdued, but one theme running throughout the crowd was amazement that the blond boy had managed to step in and save all their lives when they had been too panicked to act. It soon turned, once more, to a discussion of politics. Namely, whether Kakashi should somehow be ousted (peacefully, for whatever else they felt about him no-one wished him ill) so that Naruto could resume his role as their leader. After all, Naruto had just saved all of their lives, while Kakashi... had yet to show up, despite the fact the tournament was already over.

* * *

Ignorant of the debates going on about him, Naruto was examining the three people left unconscious in the arena alongside Sakura. "How is she?" he asked as they examined Futaba.

"Well... I think she just fell, and wasn't fallen on. The shock of the fall has likely paralyzed her, temporarily, but I can accelerate the healing easily enough so that she could be good to go on another mission in an hour," Sakura replied. "Although I would suggest she sleep on it, nonetheless."

Naruto let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and nodded. "Good. How's your patient, Hana-chan?"

"He's fine," Hana answered dismissively, massaging one of Gonta's legs. "He had a mild case of negative chakra, when I got here, actually -- they must have been going all out to stop Moegi-chan -- but I was able to fix that easily enough. Now, he just needs time to rest... and to let bruises heal."

Naruto hesitated. "I don't know much about how your clan works with your dogs. Could Futaba temporarily work with one of yours, at least long enough for the chuunin exam? If Gonta's dealing with chakra exhaustion, he probably won't be ready to leave before the chuunin exam starts."

"Then she's got the slot?" Hana asked, restrained pride leaking out in her voice.

"Well... I don't know, yet," Naruto sighed. "I have four people who all equally deserve to take the chuunin exam, and only three slots for them. I'm going to want to talk with them all, first. If she doesn't take it this time, though, I'll make sure she's in the next one. If she's in this one, though..."

"Kuromaru will take Gonta's place," Hana said finally. "He's the only one who could do it. My dogs won't fight for anyone else but me."

"Good. Thanks, puppy lady, I knew we could count on you."

Hana grinned ruefully. "'Puppy lady,' again, huh? You know I technically outrank you, now, and you're no longer my superior in the chain of command. That sort of insubordination might not go over well when it comes time for your promotion."

Naruto laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, where did Sakura-chan go?"

The pink-haired girl was kneeling by Moegi. At her side was a rather distressed looking Konohamaru, who kept hesitantly reaching out with his hand as if to touch the unconscious girl before drawing it back again as if afraid he might hurt her. With a sigh, Naruto made his way over to her. One thing he had learned about Sakura -- when she was working on her medical ninjitsu, she'd usually become a bit... absent-minded. So her forgetting to let him know she'd moved on wasn't too surprising.

"Leader," Konohamaru greeted with what sounded like a broken sob. "I... she shouldn't have done that, I know, and she's been a real pain this tournament, but... but... I'm so worried about her. What if... what if she's really badly hurt? What if--"

"Sakura-chan?" he prompted, overriding the genin's rambling fears.

"Eh? Oh. No, Moegi-chan's fine. I was worried she might have a concussion or something, but I guess she was just knocked out -- her pupils are nice and clear, her breathing is steady, and everything seems fine," Sakura replied. "You don't have to worry, Konohamaru-kun. Moegi-chan's a lot tougher then she looks... at least, a lot tougher then she looks when she isn't taller then the building she's in."

"Thanks," Konohamaru replied, now reaching out to take one of Moegi's hands without fear. "Is it alright if I stay with her?"

"Yeah, she'll be okay. Now... on to that last patient."

Naruto followed her to Ebisu's side. Ebisu had been the only one to escape the battle conscious, but that hadn't lasted long -- Moegi had fallen on one of his legs, and he had been screaming in pain when Naruto first showed up. Sakura had told him to knock the jounin out, which Naruto had been glad to do as his ears were starting to hurt. His injuries, however, were the only ones Sakura could be sure weren't life-threatening, so she had looked in on the others, first. Now it seemed that his were the most severe injuries... and Sakura immediately noticed that, as well.

"Hm. He's out for a month, at least -- I can make sure his leg heals right, but he won't be able to walk on it for two or three weeks, regardless of how fast I heal it for him. This isn't quite as severe as the damage Lee-kun took against Gaara, but it's no wonder he was screaming."

Naruto sighed, looking over at Hana speculatively. "Well, I guess that means he won't be leading the genin to the exam. I guess we'll have to pick someone else."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, he won't be going anywhere for a while."

"Well, let's get these three to the hospital. Then you, me, Hana-chan, Aoba-san, and Kakashi-sensei -- if he ever shows up -- need to get to work on deciding who's going to go where." He smirked, although not happily. "Looks like it's going to be a long night for all of us."

* * *

Notes: I will never, EVER write a tournament again. This sucked, and by sucked I mean 'the life out of me.' Sure, it didn't help that I had a gazillion things to do in real life, but this... I hated writing this. Outside of the Moegi-Hanabi fight, I was frustrated the entire time I wrote, and I hated it. I needed to do it -- all of it -- but I just hated writing it. So, sorry for the relatively long period between updates, but this chapter nearly killed the fic for me, I was struggling with it so much. I think it needs a rewrite, but I'm too sick and tired of it to try, so I'll just post it as is and move on.

Next chapter: I won't even be starting until Monday, I know, so expect it late again. Essentially, decisions will be made regarding who goes to the chuunin exam and how. Hopefully, I'll get it out sooner then this chapter, but we'll see.


	44. V3 Chapter 34

Volume 3

Notes: Mention is made of the mission to rescue Gaara in the manga story arc which was recently completed. Imagine that the story happened much like it did in the manga, but Kakashi's battle was altered so that he didn't have the mangekyou eye and there's nothing about kyuubi's 'tails' involved, precisely. And afterwards, this fic (specifically this volume) diverges completely from the manga storyline -- this new character, Sai, will not be appearing no matter how interesting he turns out to be. Gaara, for the purposes of this fanfic, is alive. The subplot I was intending to include depending on whether he lived or not can no longer be written (I passed the point I had to start it a few chapters ago), but he will be appearing in Vol. 4 nonetheless. (I meant to mention how I was finally 'settling' where this fic diverged from in the last chapter's notes, but I was so fed up with writing the chapter by that point that I just posted it before I remembered to add them. I guess now is soon enough, though)

Moegi IS stronger then an AVERAGE jounin. That's not actually that bizarre, just rare. Sakura is stronger then your average jounin, after all, and she isn't a jounin. We're talking raw strength, now, not overall fighting capability. In other words, Moegi could bench press more then the average jounin could. I don't see why that seems so unrealistic -- it wouldn't be unusual for one of the strongest college-level linebackers (American football, for those who don't follow sports or at least not US sports), for example, to be stronger then the average NFL starting linebacker. But the starting NFL linebacker, because of their experience and skill, are better players (probably) then that college linebacker. If this concept is too hard to grasp... well, I'm sorry.

Regarding Shikamaru: I've heard it said that as a character goes from manga to anime to fanfic, the idiots will become stupider, the perverts more perverted, and the violent tomboys more violent, and over time these 'new' characterizations will be thought of as the 'true' ones, even though they are the furthest from canon. I've seen it happen in many a series, as well, and while that is an overgeneralization, it does have SOME merit. Well, I've also seen the smart (Shikamaru) getting made smarter. I love the character of Shikamaru, but I think he's often portrayed as being smarter then he actually is -- or rather, I think his brilliance is shown to cover areas he isn't exactly brilliant in. The audience felt he was worthy to become a chuunin, true... but being a chuunin does NOT necessarily mean he's ready to lead all types of missions, but rather he'd be very good at some types of missions and moderately capable, but sub-par, at others. He is, as one reviewer put it, a strategician, not a tactician. That has been the point of many of the scenes I've had him in or discussed him in. I've already mentioned, several times, why I don't have him as the brilliant boy in all of his endeavors that many people seem to want me (or other fanfic writers) to make him, but I have also attempted not to diminish him in those areas he's seemed remarkably talented. He comes up with a doozy of a plan... but when something goes wrong, it'll take him a while to figure out how to fix it, and that's what I've basically been trying to say. I think that he was given a mission he was unsuited for when he lead Naruto and co. in pursuit of Sasuke, and I think it showed -- especially in his self-evaluation at the end. I've tried (and will continue to try) to have him in roles I think are more appropriate for his skill set, and he may be seen to excel in certain areas eventually... but I will not portray him as brilliant in areas I don't believe him to BE brilliant, to lead in areas he has already shown he was underprepared to lead. Now, that's not precisely saying he's TERRIBLE at these jobs -- his leadership in the Sasuke crisis wasn't horrible, per se, and when he had time to think he came up with brilliant -- but, since they all had flaws which resulted in him breaking up his team, ultimately failed plans. A TACTICIAN leading that mission -- i.e., someone more like Naruto, who's better at 'strategy on the fly' (a.k.a. tactics) and who could make corrections faster -- might have been able to keep his whole team together utilizing Shikamaru's plans as a starting point and managing to truly compensate when each plan failed. So, his strategic brilliance lead to rather average results since he couldn't compensate when he needed tactical brilliance. In other words, he's brilliant, but he has flaws in his brilliance... and some fanfic writers and readers miss those flaws. Understood?

I am constantly being asked why I 'removed' certain chapters. I have removed no chapters. What's happening is that ffnet is experiencing technical difficulties, and occasionally that'll result in a false result claiming a chapter does not exist when it in fact does. Your web browser will cache this false result, meaning that you'll see this page as 'missing' until your cache is cleared. I don't know how to fix it, and I can't do anything about it even if I did -- I don't have any control over ffnet, after all. The best thing I can suggest is, if you're running into missed chapters, try the version of this fic archived over at mediaminer.

I've apparently been nominated for some award for this fanfic over at The Original Naruto Fanfic Archive. I've never even heard of this archive, before, so I have no idea what this award is about, and how reputable it is, but I figured I'd mention it just in case some of you did. (I do now know things I didn't before, like, say, where it is and all (the e-mail informing me of the nomination included a link), but I still haven't had much of a chance to explore the site on my own. Enter at your own risk)

* * *

Chapter 34

"It's about damned time you showed up, Kakashi-_sensei,_" Naruto snapped. He wasn't in a happy mood after having to help Ebisu -- who had just regained consciousness -- to the hospital, and hearing all the whimpers and screams of pain the older man made as he was carried across town. In fact, only those who had fought alongside him in an intense battle would recognize the mood he was in -- and so wasn't nearly as ready to forgive his old sensei for his tardiness. "You do know we almost lost a good ninety percent of the village's population, including most of its ninja's, in the tournament today, right? Where the hell were you -- and don't give me any bullshit about you having been 'lost on the path of life' or anything like that. The truth, dammit, or so help me you're out of here. You gave me this chuunin exam to run, it's my call who works with me on it."

Kakashi was, as it turned out, one of those few people who had fought alongside him in a major battle, during the mission to rescue Gaara. He recognized this attitude, and knew better then to try and fight against it. "I was in a meeting," he answered honestly. "We had an unexpected courier arrive from the Cloud, bearing some intelligence which might be useful for our people who are about to travel into their lands. I figured you could handle the tournament... and, given that everyone survived despite the... situation, I suspect I was right."

Naruto hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. "I suppose I can believe that. It's a lot more plausible then your usual lies, anyway."

Kakashi, seeing that his presence had been accepted, took a seat at the council table Naruto had commandeered for the meeting. "Thank you. I read a report on the fights. I have my own opinions, but I'm interested in yours."

A little of Naruto's temper resurfaced. "Your opinions don't matter, here. I'll hear your advice, but this is ultimately my decision."

Sakura, sitting at Naruto's right, put a gentle hand on his arm. "Naruto, calm down. Remember, he is the jounin-oyabun here."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto replied dismissively, although he did noticibly settle back into his chair and relax some. "Okay, I started the tournament so that the two genin who I already knew were ready to take the exam faced off in the one preliminary match we had. Hanabi won against Konohamaru, but both of them already had a slot in my mind. I... was unaware of just how improved Moegi-chan was, however, or else I might have arranged things differently. I suspected the puppy girl was the person for the third slot, and thought I was arranging things so that she would face the winner of Konohamaru and Hanabi-chan. I mostly wanted to see who needed what to prepare for the next exam, actually, since I'd pretty much already decided on who was going to be in the exam.

"However, Moegi-chan sort of ruined that plan," he admitted ruefully. "I didn't know if Hanabi-chan would win after seeing her match with Konohamaru, but I didn't expect her to show all of what she did. I'm told she can get a bit careless, sometimes, and I did see some of that when she tried her baika no jutsu inside the stadium, but... well, right now I'm hard pressed to say that she isn't as good as Hanabi-chan or Konohamaru. But then, the puppy girl was handling her rather well during their match, too, and that fight ended in a draw... which she should have one. So, I'd rather not pull her from consideration, either. But that leaves us with four candidates, and three slots, and that's the crux of the problem."

"Hm," Kakashi grunted, nodding slowly. "Well, then, I suggest you withdraw Hanabi-chan from consideration. She's decided to leave, once, herself, because of the situation between her clan and Cloud... and the information I recieved today makes me doubt for her safety should she attend."

Naruto stiffened. So did Sakura and several of the other participants in the council, including Anko, Hana, and Ino. It wasn't entirely a secret that Naruto had pushed hard with Hanabi to get her to change her mind, and everyone knew his attitude about giving up. Withdrawing Hanabi now, after she had genuinely demonstrated her maturity and talent in the tournament -- maturity and talent which had shown her as probably the top candidate for chuunin -- was far too close to giving up for any of them to believe Naruto would even consider it.

"No," was all he answered, surprisingly calm and brief in his answer despite everyone expecting him to explode into a long rant on the evils of giving up. It impressed them all the more when he seemed to feel that was all he needed to say, and leaned back into his chair. "I'm going to ask all four candidates into this chamber and ask one of them to withdraw. If none of them do... well, then maybe we'll have them draw straws or something random like that."

"I still think--" Kakashi began.

"I will not have Hanabi-chan be shoved aside from a chance at promotion when she has earned it," Naruto snapped, his voice cracking a bit. "If she decides on her own to withdraw again, that's one thing... but I will not withdraw her because of vague reports that the danger might be as great as we already knew it was."

Kakashi stared at him blankly for a moment and then shrugged. "It's your call. Remember, though... if she is killed, this time it will be your responsibility."

Sakura tensed, almost ready to attack Kakashi -- again -- in defense of Naruto, but restrained herself when she saw Naruto nodding.

"You're right," he said slowly. "Which is why I will be the one to take them into Cloud. It makes the most sense -- with Ebisu injured, we're already short of jounin. I was planning to have either him or Hana-chan lead the genin through the exam, but... probably it should be me, instead. That way, I'll be there if anything goes wrong. But if Hanabi decides to stay behind, I suppose I'd go ahead and give the job to the puppy lady. She's, er, less likely to cause an international incident."

Kakashi hesitated, but then nodded in agreement. "I suppose, if you think that's best. I did leave you in charge of this matter, after all."

Naruto nodded, then looked around the room. Spying a pink-haired woman on the other end of the council table, he called to her. "Haruno-san, could you please get the four, um, candidates? Sakura-chan tells me they should all be awake by now."

Haruno grinned down at Naruto. "Certainly, son. I'll be right back."

Sakura winced, slightly, at her mother calling Naruto 'son.' It wasn't that she was ashamed of being Naruto's fiance, nor was she unhappy that her mother seemed to accept him so well, but... she wasn't ready to get married. To anybody. And so, she didn't want it known that she was engaged to Naruto, because she anticipated that it would be years before she decided to settle down and marry him. She wasn't ruling out... well, a more physical relationship with Naruto sooner rather then later, but marriage... just wasn't in the cards for her right then. She hadn't said anything to her mother -- though she had discussed it, briefly, with Ino, and had tried to hint her plans to Naruto with what she hoped was some success -- but she didn't want to get married until she was ready to have children... and she certainly wasn't ready for that, yet. She had a career ahead of her, first. But if her mother continued calling him 'son' all the time then she had no idea what people would think... and so every time her mother called Naruto 'son' or did something which might hint at the current arrangement she had with him, Sakura couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Apparently, however, looking around the room, no-one seemed to have noticed. Of course, she was in a room full of ninja -- most of whom had many years of experience more then she -- and so schooling emotion off of their face would have been well trained into them, by now. However, it was a good sign that none of them at least seemed to care, even if they did catch it. Even Anko, who already knew of the... arrangement... hadn't reacted, so perhaps she was in the clear.

Her mother returned quickly enough, leading the four genin inside. Naruto grinned at them. "Congradulations! You've all qualified to take the chuunin exam. However... there's a problem."

"Problem?" Futaba echoed, glancing at Hana. The older Inuzuke smiled sympathetically at the younger, but said nothing.

"There are four of you. We've only got three slots. Now, only three of you can attend this particular exam... so one of you will have to wait for the next one. You won't have to 're-qualify' for that one, however -- you'll just be a few months behind," Naruto explained. "But, like I said, only three of you can attend this exam."

Shifting uncomfortably, Futaba nodded. "Okay... which of us is the one who has to remain behind?"

Her voice had wavered in such a way it was obvious she felt she was the one who would be held back, but Naruto shook his head. "I was hoping that one of you would volunteer. I realize there's not really anything I can offer you in return for this delay, but... someone has to remain behind. I think you're all ready, and each of you brings something very different to the role of chuunin. Konohamaru, you've probably got the best developed charismatic leadership. Moegi, you've got the most raw power, and some sense of tactics. Futaba, you've had the most experience when it comes to tactical leadership, thanks to your work with Gonta. Hanabi, you're the most well-rounded of the bunch -- you've got power, both tactical and charismatic leadership -- if only in a classroom setting --, and some administrative experience under your belt. All four of you deserve to go to this exam. But if _you _think there's more you need... then perhaps you would want to wait, and I'll personally work with you to build up whatever it is you think you're lacking. So I'm asking you... will any of the four of you withdraw?"

Futaba hesitated as well. She knew that, of the four of them, she was the weakest. She'd won largely by getting what amounted to a cheap shot in on Moegi, and that victory had nearly killed half of the population of Blossom. She was certain that the only reason Naruto hadn't singled her out for withdrawl was that, well, she and he had been working closely together in training for the past several months, already. However... she didn't want to withdraw. She felt that she was ready for the chuunin exam, and perhaps it was greedy of her... but she was going to wait and see if someone else answered, first. She glanced around, hoping to see what the others were thinking.

Hanabi's mouth opened and closed a few times, but a glance from Naruto silenced her. Of all four of them, it was obvious she was the one he least wanted to withdraw. She and Konohamaru were the most ready for the promotion, and the only reason she wouldn't want to take the exam was that it was held in Cloud... but, apparently, Naruto didn't want that to stop her. So, Futaba wouldn't be getting a reprieve from her.

Moegi looked rather abashed. In fact, she looked rather guilty about her role in the whole near-disaster. Futaba remembered that she was usually a rather sweet girl, except when defending Konohamaru's honor or when in combat, and she wondered if maybe the personal shame of having lost control, like she had, would cause her to decide to withdraw. She seemed to be considering it, as well, but wasn't saying anything herself.

Konohamaru was who Futaba least suspected of withdrawing. After all, the boy was the grandson of the Third. Many people suspected that he would be the hokage designate before he turned twenty, and he certainly wouldn't want to be delayed here. Of everyone, he had been the most prepared for early advancement -- there had been some who said he could have skipped the genin rank entirely and gone to chuunin straight out of the Academy. Yes, he lost to Hanabi, but that was no disgrace -- Hanabi was better then most genin and even many chuunin when it came to combat ability, after all, and she was far behind him in the non-combat areas of command. Well, she had been -- Naruto had, admittedly, been taking the Hyuuga girl under his wing, since her clan began its civil war, and so she might have learned more. But he was the person with the least need to withdraw -- everyone else had a reason, whether it was clan business (like Hanabi's) or simply the need to train more in certain aspects such as combat techniques and control (like Futaba herself and Moegi, respectively), which was great enough to want to withdraw. He shouldn't have to.

Which made it all the more surprising when he stepped forward. "I think I'll hold off until next time," he said, surprising everyone in the room... except, perhaps, Naruto.

Moegi's eyes widened, and she turned to face him in shock. "But... but Konohamaru-chan! Why? I'm the one who should... I mean, with what happened in my last match, I..."

Konohamaru smiled softly at her, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, it's okay with me. I can wait. And, truth be told... I think all three of you did much better during the tournament then I did. Moegi-chan, you still need to learn control... but I suspect that this mission -- and make no mistake about it, getting promoted is a _mission_ for Blossom, not an individual accomplishment like it would be in Konoha -- will help you learn that. Futaba-chan is more ready to be a chuunin then I am, considering her experience. Hanabi-chan is more well-rounded then I am, and she already has a chuunin-level job she works at every day. You, Moegi-chan... you are more ready then I am, when it comes to combat, for the promotion. You do need to learn a bit about leadership, but honestly I think being around Hanabi-chan and Futaba-chan will help you more than hanging around with me would. You idolize me, too much, Moegi-chan... and so you need to learn from someone other then me."

"Maybe," Moegi said softly, not meeting his eyes. "But... but what about your dreams of being hokage?"

"Well... a great man once told me that there are no shortcuts to becoming hokage," Konohamaru explained, noticing out of his peripheral vision that Naruto had the grace to blush. "So perhaps I shouldn't be taking a shortcut when it is offered to me, huh? Of all of us, I was the one who did the least to earn this slot. I was being given it on a silver platter... and that's just not the right way to become hokage, is it? I'll still become a chuunin, but I'll do it the right way -- I'll spend these next several months training to be the best I can, and I'll earn my promotion like I should. Like you have earned this spot, Moegi-chan. Don't be so hard on yourself -- you did great in that tournament! Now, go forth and get that promotion... and I'll be catching up with you soon enough."

She smiled at him slightly. "Well... I guess I can try. For you." She paused. "Besides, it'd be great to be on the first ever all-kunoichi team to take the chuunin exam!"

"I'm afraid you won't be able to brag about that," Naruto said suddenly, interrupting the young couple. "Just a warning -- from here on in, nobody mentions a word of what's going on in this room. This is strictly need to know, and only the people in this room should be told. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," the gathered ninja, including the jounin who were technically Naruto's superiors, chorused. Somewhere along the line, Kakashi realized as he watched the boy work, Naruto had not just accepted his job as head of the village, but actually taken charge of it. Even the jounin who grew up hating or mistrusting him -- people like Aoba or Anko -- were accepting his commands as if he ran the village. Kakashi smiled slightly under his mask, pleased that the boy had managed to achieve what he had... but that smile had some doubt in it, for Kakashi knew that he might unknowingly cause a few problems in the future with Kakashi's _real_ mission in Blossom. As he already had once so far...

"Now, we have a bit of a problem. Hanabi-chan needs to be promoted, so she has to attend this exam. But... her clan and the Cloud don't exactly see eye-to-eye, so we've got other issues which will need to be taken care of. I have a plan in mind, and I'll need your help, Konohamaru."

* * *

Sakura was clinging on to Naruto as if her life depended on it. She had wanted to come along, but for the obvious reason of Cloud limiting the number of Blossom ninja allowed to visit at this time, she was unable to. She was actually very worried -- Cloud wasn't exactly the most friendly of foriegn powers -- and they were a lot more deceptive about their intentions then most. Truth be told, she would rather send him off to lead the genin to a chuunin exam in Sound then in Cloud, because at least Sound was a bit more... direct. The incident which lead to the death of Hyuuga Hizashi so long ago was only the latest of a very large number of fake political incidents they had initiated with Konoha. They were not to be trusted... but she suspected Naruto knew that, considering some of the plans he had made.

"I'm going to miss you," she whispered softly.

"Hey, it'll only be a couple months," Naruto pointed out. If things went according to plan, it would only be a couple weeks... but, as they were on the edge of town and in public, he couldn't exactly reveal that. Still, the point was made.

"Still," Sakura replied. "We haven't exactly been that far apart since... well, since you returned to Konoha from your training trip. And I... I'm worried about you."

"Well, I suspect you'll know if I run into any trouble," Naruto said. "But we should be fine. After all, I'm in charge, aren't I? And how many things have I messed up when I was in charge of them?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You want a complete list, or just a few examples?"

He chuckled slightly. "Well, okay. I screw up all the time... but if I've lived through it all those times I've screwed up, what makes you think this time is any different?"

"It _is_ the Cloud you're dealing with, here," Sakura pointed out. "Orochimaru or... or even the Akatsuki are easier to deal with, usually. You can at least be sure they're your enemy... with the Cloud, well, they're often your enemy, your ally, and in the process of changing sides all at the same time."

Naruto didn't have an answer to that, but did hold her tighter. He wanted to reassure her as best as he could, and... well, there didn't seem to be anything he could say to help. So, he just gave her what physical comfort he could. A brief, soft kiss to her forehead signalled the need to let go, but they both were reluctant to slip out of each other's arms. They were both still touching, even after letting go, each allowing their fingertips to rest on the other's arms so lightly they would tickle if either of them moved.

A loud throat clearing reminded them of exactly where they were.

"Isn't it time to get this show on the road, boss?" Konohamaru asked, smirking at the blond boy.

"You aren't _usually_ this obnoxious, Konohamaru," Naruto warned, glaring at him. "But you're right, it's time to go."

Konohamaru winced, but nodded. "Sure thing, boss." With that, Naruto lead three genin down the road out of town. Konohamaru was in the lead, followed by Futaba and then Moegi. Moegi glanced back longingly, locking eyes with -- of all people -- Hanabi, a sad, regretful set to her expression. This whole situation wasn't fair, and she knew it.

Sakura, Hanabi, and the rest of the gathered crowd watched until the foursome was out of sight before turning around and dispersing back to their normal routine. "Come on, Hanabi," Sakura said. "Let's take a walk."

Hanabi sighed after following the other girl for some time. "I know I volunteered for this in the end, but... I still wish I could go. I hate the fact that this test is in Cloud, and I hate worse that it forced us into using such a... useless plan. I mean, what's the point when this is all over? It's not going to work, you know."

"I don't know about that," Sakura said doubtfully, shaking her head. "Naruto comes up with a lot of plans most of us ninja look down on as silly or amateurish, but they always seem to work even against ninja of decades more experience then we have."

"Well, it's not like I'll ever know, now, is it?" Hanabi grumbled. "Look, I've got to report to Kakashi's office in an hour, and I'd like some time to, er, freshen up. Can we talk about this later?"

"Sure, Hanabi-chan," Sakura answered. "But I'm here to talk any time."

Hanabi smiled at her ruefully. "Yeah, I know. See you, Sakura-san."

They parted ways, and Hanabi made her way to her home. She fumbled with her keys -- a pointless gesture in a ninja village, keys, but they did allow for some small degree of privacy. She really wished that they didn't bother with them, sometimes -- she was never concerned about a lack of keys, after all. Grumbling for quite a bit, she finally got the door unlocked and went in.

Securing the lock behind her purely out of instinct, despite her disgust at the whole concept, she rushed into the bedroom. She needed to change and get ready, after all.

"Kai," she whispered, dispelling the henge. Within moments, Konohamaru emerged from the puff of ninja smoke. "Well... I hope this works."

* * *

Notes: I'm not sure I was really fooling anyone reading this fic at the end, there, with Konohamaru masquerading at Hanabi, but I figure he was fooling Blossom at least.

Next chapter: Naruto, Hanabi (disguised as Konohamaru, of course), Moegi, and Futaba arrive in Cloud and take the written portion of the test. The plan to leave before the start of the second part of the test, however, has a slight snag...


	45. V3 Chapter 35

Volume 3

Notes: Hm... light review day. No-one posted any comments I really need to talk about here. I will explain the notes system again, here, though, for people who don't realize what's going on: Sometimes, I have to leave a note BEFORE the events of a chapter in order to respond to a review, and sometimes AFTER. Because of that, I will ALWAYS try to divide the notes between a 'top' set of notes and a 'bottom' set of notes. If this bothers you, sorry, but that's how it's going to be.

Chapter 35

* * *

Naruto poked the campfire with a stick. There was no reason for it -- the fire was roaring just as they wanted, and he wasn't actually hitting any wood with the stick -- but he thought it looked right... and he could probably use the stick at some point.

"Moegi-chan," he sighed. The Akimichi girl was the only genin present, as Hanabi was collecting more firewood and Futaba was hunting. He and Moegi had just finished setting up camp, and were waiting for the two others to return. "You and Hanabi-chan have to learn how to work together, better. The two of you fighting all of the time will make you fail the exam, and then all of this mess we've been involved in will have been for nothing."

Moegi huffed. "Look, I just don't _like_ her. And I don't see it as all that important to work with her here, anyway -- I mean, yeah, I know all about those teamwork lessons. Ebisu-sensei put us through those repeatedly, long before we all became genin, but... well, since when is teamwork a part of a written test? We aren't planning on taking any of the other parts, anyway."

Naruto paused. He wasn't supposed to ever reveal anything about his chuunin exam experience to another person, but this was a special case. After all, they weren't being tested in Konoha, so things would likely be different, anyway... and these three genin needed to know what they were up against. It wasn't like most chuunin exams, after all -- this wasn't a normal team which had worked together for at least eight, though more commonly sixteen or more missions, learning each other's habits and behaviors. It was a mixed team, and as such had a severe disadvantage. One he supposed he would just have to counter through a little explanation.

"The written exam is just a front," he pointed out. "Or, it was when I took the exam. I never even wrote a single word on the paper, after all, outside of my name. I passed the written exam with a blank sheet of paper."

Moegi stiffened. "But..."

"It was a psy-op to determine how good we were with trusting our teammates and relying on each other," Naruto explained. "There was also a bit in there to get rid of the truly incompetent ninja, as well, but I imagine that what they had us do will be a bit different from what they'll have you do. The point is... yes, teamwork is even part of the written exam. So, yes, you need to learn how to work with Hanabi-chan better."

Moegi's face fell. "But leader, I... I just can't get along with her. It's more then Konohamaru-chan. I knew, even when I was yelling at her about it, that she wasn't 'making him' cop a feel on her, and I wasn't really angry about that. But... well, she's always been something of a bully, and a bit obsessive at that. She's put Konohamaru-chan down, she's put you down, she's put Daichi-kun down, she's put me down... I just can't stand how she casually insults everybody like she does! And... and did you see the way she abused poor Neji-kun when he was in town a few months ago? And..."

"I saw," Naruto said. "I've also seen a great change in her, lately. This business with her clan's civil war really shook her up, and she's changing for the better. It does make it rather hard to be nice to people, though, when no-one forgives you."

The girl winced. "It would take some time to get used to that, if she really has changed. But how can I work with her when I don't like her?"

Naruto shrugged. "Did you know that Uchiha Sasuke and I worked extremely well together? When we decided to work together, that is."

The girl hesitated. "Well... I didn't when I was in Konoha, but somehow the people here in Wave country know a lot more about your mission here then anyone back home was ever told."

Naruto smirked. "We did okay, sometimes, at other times as well. It's true, though, if you didn't know about the fights with Zabuza, you'd probably not have realized that. The thing is... while I eventually came to look upon Sasuke as one of my best friends... there was a very long part of our time, together, where I was so jealous of him that I hated his guts."

"You hated him?" Moegi chirped, surprised. "But... well, I'd always heard you were great friends! I... I..."

Naruto sighed, poking the fire with the stick once again. "Oh, we were. Well, we were about as close as anyone ever got to Sasuke, anyway... but I still hated his guts. I had a pretty good reason to, but... well, jealousy-fueled hatred doesn't exactly help two people work well together, now does it?"

"Jealousy? What were _you_ jealous of?"

Naruto chuckled bitterly. "Well, Sakura-chan, for one. She had such a huge crush on him she was steamrolling over her friends -- including me -- in pursuit of him. Plus he was smarter then me, stronger then me, faster then me, and... well, he appeared so _perfect._ He was the ideal ninja. The person I aspired to be, who had the things I most wanted in life -- Sakura-chan, the respect of everyone around him, truly great skills, grace and poise... all things I had little of. Just about everyone in Konoha hated me and cursed my name. Sakura-chan was so resentful of my affections she very nearly killed me a time or two for daring to voice them. I failed at the Academy three times and was the bottom of my class. I was rude and crude and clumsy, and I was... I don't know. But I had ample reason to be jealous of him."

"But you were a great ninja!" Moegi protested. "Konohamaru-chan saw that! Ebisu-sensei saw that! The Third saw that! Why were you so down on yourself?"

"I was a horrible ninja," Naruto laughed. "Probably the worst one to ever graduate from the Academy! I was remarkably good with stealth, but never used it. I came up with crappy techniques which wouldn't work on most true ninja. I was slow, and constantly late, and my taijutsu stank even though that was what I was supposed to be the most talented at. I bragged all the time -- still do, but at least now I actually have the talent to back it up. I made poor decisions, ruined a number of the D-class missions we were sent on, and damn near blew our teamwork out of the water with my jealousy."

"But--"

"I was the worst ninja ever," Naruto repeated. "Except when there was _real_ danger involved. Then... I don't know if it was the adreneline or what, but then I knew exactly what I was doing, could beat the hell out of people I didn't have any right to even look at, much less fight, and I could -- and this is the important thing -- co-ordinate our team in ways that made us work, regardless of _what_ personal problems we were having with each other at the time."

"Except in that last fight," Moegi pointed out hesitantly.

"Sasuke was literally crazy, by then," Naruto pointed out. "I don't get it all, but Sakura-chan found something in the Hyuuga bloodline which indicated that children of the Hyuuga and another advanced bloodline would be... I think she said 'predisposed to go insane,' or something like that. The whole Uchiha clan had that problem, which explains why about one out of every four Uchiha ninja went insane during their careers."

"That number... doesn't sound right. I mean, yeah, there were a few incidents -- and Itachi was a pretty big example of them -- but--"

"They were covered up," Naruto sighed. "Konoha's clan system allows for a lot of individual accomplishment, but it also involves a lot of dark internal politics which could destroy us, if we're not careful. The Uchiha clan was the council leadership for so long, that they were able to hide a lot of their problems from the world. The Haruno clan -- and possibly others -- managed to keep their own records, however... and from that, we've learned a lot."

"But... but..."

"I keep telling people 'the clan system means nothing in Blossom.' I mean it. There will not be a true clan system established in Blossom, if I have anything to say about it," Naruto snapped. "Oh, sure, there'll be clans... but no council based on clan leadership, no clan will have any special rights like the Hyuuga do in Konoha, and the only purpose of clans will be to teach special techniques. Nothing else. I suppose each clan can run its own 'preparatory school,' if they want, but that will be the limit of it." He paused. "I figure that way, Blossom has a chance of surviving even if Konoha crumbles to its clan system. Although I hope to change the clan system in Konoha, too, when I become hokage!"

Moegi hesitated. "Um... I'm not sure I can agree with you on that one. I think my clan does pretty good, after all."

"Sure, some of the clans do," Naruto agreed. "But then, some of them don't. And then there are other problems which come when you don't have a clan to support you. Where are the rest of the Uzumaki?"

Moegi hesitated. "Er... dead?"

"And who brought me up with my clan all gone?"

"I... don't know."

Naruto smirked. "Right. Because no-one did -- I went to school, and that was about all I had to grow up with. No parents, no clan members, no-one outside of a clan willing to help... nobody. If you aren't in a clan, you're just out of luck in Konoha."

Moegi shook her head. "But a large part of Konoha's philosophy is teamwork -- especially in the mixing of clan powers on various teams. I just don't understand!"

"Who leads your team?"

"Konohamaru-chan," Moegi answered without hesitation.

"I expected you would say that -- you have quite the crush on him, after all. Okay, better example: Who leads the team of Hanabi-chan, Futaba-chan, and Daichi-san?"

"Hanabi-chan," Moegi replied, still not getting his point.

"Sasuke-kun lead my team," Naruto pointed out, "Although I was always in a bit of a power struggle with him, and I usually took over in a crisis. Okay, now, here's the trickier question. Between Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun, and myself, who would have been the _best_ leader?"

Moegi grinned at him. "Fishing for compliments? You, of course!"

"Wrong. Sakura-chan," Naruto shot back. "She was the smartest of the three of us, and cared for both of us whether she wanted to or not. But she idolized Sasuke-kun, in large part because he was an Uchiha, and therefore never even considered taking charge. I was better then Sasuke, when it mattered, but she would have been even better then me if she'd tried. Who would be the best leader of Hanabi-chan's team?"

"Uh..." Moegi hesitated, boggling slightly. "Hanabi-chan?"

"No. Hanabi-chan is their combat expert, but while she's gotten a lot better she doesn't have as well developed a sense of instinctual leadership as Futaba-chan does. But Hanabi-chan leads because the Hyuuga are the lead clan. No, while our 'mixed clans' is a good idea, it isn't enough. The stronger clan will wind up leading over the better leader... most of the time. Sometimes, someone will rise up and claim leadership -- like I did, or at least tried to do -- but they have to be very, very good. I wasn't, and so things fell apart on our team."

"But Konohamaru-chan is the best leader on our team!" Moegi shot back, her voice wavering. "So it doesn't always work that way!"

"Konohamaru is a good leader," Naruto admitted. "Out of all nine of the genin in Blossom, he's the best. That's why he isn't here. But when you get back... you're going to be the leader. You'll outrank him, after all, and in missions requiring your team to lead itself, without the help of your jounin sensei, guess who will be put in charge?"

"Me," Moegi replied softly. "I... I'm going to outrank Konohamaru-chan."

"Which means," Naruto pointed out. "You still need to learn how to use teamwork. And I'll make this a point with you -- there'll be times when you'll be leading a mixed-team mission, or times when you and Hanabi-chan will have to work together for, say, a class B mission. You're going to have to be ready for that. And there's this exam, which will be testing your ability to work together. An exam which begins in two or three days..."

"Okay," Moegi sighed. "I'll work with her. But I make no guarantees that I'll like it!"

* * *

"And just why are you sticking to me like this, again?" Hanabi asked dryly.

"Because we're not supposed to go anywhere alone," Moegi repeated -- again.

"That doesn't explain why you're... cuddling me," the other girl sighed. It was really not very comfortable being held at all, especially not as tightly as the other girl was holding her. Having bound her breasts and worn a costume and make-up -- largely because it would be impossible to hold a henge long enough -- Hanabi wasn't exactly able to relax much, anyway, but... being held like this by another girl just added to the problem.

"You are in disguise as Konohamaru-chan," Moegi pointed out. "And if they have any spies in Blossom at all, they know that this is _exactly_ how I deal with Konohamaru. It'd be odd if I wasn't."

Hanabi grimmaced. Yes, she did have to go along with the subterfuge. She even had to go to the men's bathrooms and things like that -- a very unpleasant experience, and one she decided she would _not_ be repeating. Even the name on the application form she was supposed to turn in said Konohamaru... although that form was 'treated' with a special chemical. Apply a counter-agent, and the name would change to her own, and no-one would know the difference. "Well... I guess you have a point. So, where to for dinner?"

"Well, leader-sensei suggested a nice ramen place..."

"Naruto-sensei will _always_ recommend a ramen shop, first and foremost," Hanabi sighed. "'We' date in Blossom. What type of places do 'I' usually take you?"

"Ramen shops," Moegi laughed. "We're both only genin, after all, and D-class missions don't exactly pay much."

"But his clan... they're one of the wealthiest in Konoha! Even more then my own! Surely he could afford more then that..."

"He doesn't take money from his clan," Moegi sighed. "I don't, either. Not unless we think we need it for a mission."

Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "Even for special occasions, like birthdays? Or graduation? Or, say, the last night before a chuunin exam?"

Moegi laughed. "All right, point taken. I gather you're not as fond of ramen as... a certain individual among our travelling companions is, are you?"

"I can eat the stuff," Hanabi replied, "But... no. I have a hard time being enthusiastic about it even when Naruto-sensei is so excited about being able to give me a free coupon to one of his favorite places as a 'gift.'"

Moegi smiled sadly. "When Konohamaru-chan's grandfather, the Third, was murdered... he was in a real funk. Leader-sensei gave up a free voucher for a bowl of ramen to Konohamaru-chan to help cheer him up. Surprisingly, it helped... especially because everyone knew just how badly leader-sensei loved ramen. Ayame and the head chef there, Teuchi I think his name was, talked with him about it for hours. Leader-sensei had been given a coupon book, earlier that year, by the orphan's fund which had provided for him for most of his life. He was down to just two coupons -- since he was a genin, he was expected to have to pay more for himself then he had before, and he was being 'weened' off of the free hand-outs. They were all he had to eat with, however, since he used most of his money to pay rent and things. When they learned that Konohamaru-chan's free voucher came from leader-sensei, they were going to return it to him. Leader-sensei was gone on a mission before they could, however." She paused. "Ramen means a lot to Konohamaru-chan."

Hanabi sighed. "Ramen it is, then. So, know a good shop?"

Moegi smirked, pointing to a building to their right. "Well, I'm not sure about how good the food is, but that place looks pretty nice."

It wasn't long before both were leaning over steaming hot bowls of restaurant-style ramen. Hanabi feigned enthusiasm as best as she could, and thankfully was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the noodles. They could talk a bit, but given their surroundings their discussions had to be guarded -- they couldn't, as they had been doing when no-one was around them, talk about things which might give away Hanabi's identity. So, of course, they decided to talk about what any two genin would be talking about the day before their first chuunin exam.

"So, how do you think the exam will be, tomorrow?" Hanabi asked, trying to make polite conversation like she suspected Konohamaru might.

"Oh, I expect to pass it," Moegi laughed. "I doubt it's very hard. I'm told it's usually more psychological then difficult."

Hanabi blinked. "And just how is it that you've heard something about the exam that I haven't?"

"You were out gathering firewood," Moegi explained. "I asked leader-sensei about his exam experience, and he told me quite a bit, actually. Nothing which really compromises the tests, but I think he stretched it as far as he thought he could. Basically, what he told me was that they were never the same test twice, but that the things they'd be looking most for is competence in basic skills, teamwork, and dealing with psychological operations in the written part of the exam. He said he actually managed to pass with a blank paper, himself, but he wouldn't explain how..."

"Well, I never figured him as much of a scholar," Hanabi admitted. "I will say he's a lot better then I first thought he was when I met him, though."

Moegi's eyes flashed. "Why, _Konohamaru-chan!_ I thought you positively _idolized_ him!" she said, hoping to get her message across.

Hanabi jumped. "Um, yes, but... well, I, um, didn't always?"

The other girl shook her head slightly, then decided to change the topic. They had to move on to something Hanabi would be more knowledgeable of, something which wouldn't add to the risk of blowing her cover. "Well, enough about that. We should finish up and go back to the inn soon -- we have a curfew we can't be late for."

* * *

The written exam had been absurdly simple for Hanabi. The questions had been absurdly hard -- much too hard for real questions expected for anyone, much less a genin, to be able to answer alone. Obviously, that meant she was _supposed_ to cheat... and even without the byakugan, it was easy enough to cheat in a room full of ninja who were also trying to cheat. She just looked around, normally, and intercepted mirror flashes, the soft sounds of odd creatures talking, people directly imitating others, communication of various sorts between teammates, and so forth, and in no time she was able to figure out just how to answer each question. Many of those she got the answers from were 'failed' because of cheating, but obviously -- as Naruto had told Moegi -- it was just a test of competence in observation and espionage.

The psychological operation, pitting her against her teammates, was also a flop. She knew her team had passed, already -- probably had done better then she did, in fact -- and that bit of knowledge made it simple to evaluate the final question on its own merits. Six teams was apparently 'a bit high' to pass through the written test, but she didn't really see how. It was fairly simple to pass this written test, after all.

So, she was now certified as having completed part one of the chuunin exam. Following the plan made way back in Blossom, they had all proceeded to the area for 'part two' of the exam, where they were given the choice of continuing or not. "Lives would be lost," was a phrase that the instructors were constantly repeating, and Hanabi didn't doubt it. They had all been given an hour to wander around and make their decision whether to continue or not. Naruto's plan called for them to spend that hour walking around, apparently in silent contemplation, until that hour was up. Then, one of them (Futaba, by luck of the draw, although that had only been decided after 'lights out' the previous night) would say loud enough to be overheard, once they were reunited, that they weren't ready to risk their lives for a simple promotion, yet. Their team would withdraw, and return to Blossom, where they would all be assigned acting-chuunin level missions to complete. That would be their final test, and hopefully they would pass it as Naruto and the others in Blossom were expecting.

Something was nagging at her, though. Something she couldn't quite figure out. Perhaps it was the notion that one of them would have to 'admit' to cowardice for this plan to work... or perhaps it was just the idea that she had to be 'protected' from the second stage of the exam. She _knew_ she could pass it, after all, even without her Hyuuga clan tactics and techniques. She had been training extensively in taijutsu and basic ninjitsu with Futaba, Moegi, and Naruto all the way to Cloud, and she knew she was able to fight reasonably well using just that little bit of knowledge. Sure, she wouldn't be able to pass through a one-on-one tournament against most of the people who'd made it through the first level of the exam, but that would have been less damaging to her pride.

No, it wasn't that. What was nagging at her was more of a physical thing. It was... it was...

It was the sense that she was being followed. Curse the fact that she was forbidded from using her byakugan! She didn't dare look over her shoulder to check or anything. And whether or not this was a real threat was in doubt, even if she really did have a pursuer. It could just be that this was some part of the exam Naruto had been unaware of -- after all, it _was_ supposed to be different every time it was given. Perhaps she was supposed to give her pursuer some indication that she knew he was there. Or perhaps this was supposed to be a lesson in losing a tail without them ever knowing you'd spotted them.

One thing Hanabi was learning about the chuunin exams, they certainly induced enough paranoia.

Deciding discretion was, in this case, the better part of valor, she made her way as quickly as she could to the nearest public building. The sense of being followed only grew, so she decided to try somewhere where most people would be reluctant to follow another person -- the bathroom. If worse came to worse, she could always fight whoever it was there and make her escape without anyone else noticing.

She entered the bathroom -- the _men's_ bathroom, despite her silent vow the previous day -- and walked over to the sink to 'wash up.' After turning on the water, she turned so she could see the door in the mirror, just in case, while she tried to collect her thoughts and plan what to do, next.

Unfortunately, before she could decide anything, a large adult male entered the room behind her... and grinned. It only took a moment for Hanabi to recognize who it was, although she couldn't believe it.

She spun around, pulling out a kunai as she did. "You!"

* * *

Notes: Yeah, I know, not a nice place to leave things. What makes it worse is this cliffhanger isn't going to be resolved right away -- there's another chapter still to come. You all are encouraged to speculate as to the identity of who it is Hanabi sees, since I've got to wonder if anyone could POSSIBLY figure it out, but I will not be confirming or denying anything until chapter 47 (er, Vol. 3 chapter 37) comes out.

Next chapter: Konohamaru has some... difficulties impersonating Hanabi when Inari and Adaha both come calling.


	46. V3 Chapter 36

Volume 3

Notes: Recently, I've been accused of not providing enough action and adventure in this fic. I've also been accused of not providing enough romance. Given that I'm trying to strike a bit of a balance, I'm guessing I've done an okay job, then... but some of you might be interested to know about the upcoming 'romance to adventure' proportion. This arc and the next arc are largely action adventure. Then comes a largely romance arc (with a lemony twist, especially for those reading on mediaminer). Then comes the concluding arc, which should have elements of both as well as some of intrigue. Then Volume 4, which starts out mostly intrigue and romance and evolves into action and romance. However, the largest portion of the 'romance' for volume 3 is over -- there's still a lot of it to come, especially in Volume 4, but just about everything between now and then is at least tinged with action.

* * *

Chapter 36

Konohamaru sighed. Impersonating Hanabi had been... a lot more difficult then he had assumed it would be. For one thing, there was the fact that he couldn't use the men's bathrooms most of the time. While he had, on occasion, considered 'spying' on girls by infiltrating a bathroom as one of them, he never realized just how silly doing that was. Girls didn't run around nude, or even in their underwear, while in the public bathroom -- they just went into the stalls and closed the door. That bit of privacy was rather comforting, in fact, because it made it easier for him to maintain his cover. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the concept of peeing while sitting down, after all.

Kakashi, who had been in on the secret, wasn't letting him 'leave' Hanabi's form even when he was behind closed doors at work -- doing _Hanabi's_ work. There was a constant drain on his chakra, and it wasn't exactly helping his ability to handle a completely unfamiliar job like the one he was being given. He was exhausted heading home every day, and even a long night's sleep rarely re-energized him fully. He wished he had taken the costume route when it had been offered him, but no... he didn't want to be discovered wearing women's clothing, so of _course_ he would decide to use henge. Stupid pride.

What made it even worse, though, was a certain pair of Academy students who he was constantly having to dodge. Inari and Adaha were both constantly vying for his attention -- and affection -- and it was rather awkward putting them off. As far as he knew, Hanabi actually liked them both -- she was still, perhaps, unaware of Adaha's marriage arrangement with her, but that wasn't exactly important at the moment. It would put her in an awkward spot if he brushed them off too badly, and it might hurt all of them if he did something... odd. Konohamaru _certainly_ didn't want to accept any date proposals from any guys, and that made things even more awkward. _To make matters worse,_ Konohamaru had noticed, _Hanabi's turned into something of a flirt these past couple months, and I've seen her dating Inari for quite a while now. To keep in character, I would_ have _to accept a date from him now and then. If I didn't, it would look too suspicious._

It wasn't, precisely, that Konohamaru had failed to anticipate this problem. He knew Hanabi was active in the dating scene, and so he would likely be asked out. He figured it wouldn't matter what he said -- he could avoid the guys, even 'break up' with them, and once Hanabi had returned from Cloud and the deception had been revealed (for there would be no point in failing to reveal it. Indeed, it would be counterproductive, since failing to reveal it would mean that Hanabi would _still_ have to retake the chuunin exam) everything would be cleared up and her boyfriends would forgive her and be forgiven and all that nonsense.

The problem, though, was that he had to act like he _was_ Hanabi while Hanabi was still in hostile territory. And Hanabi... went out on dates. All of the time. Mostly with Inari, but she hadn't exactly been exclusive with him so perhaps it would be odd if he failed to accept dates from others as well. Inari, thankfully, wasn't exclusive with Hanabi, as well, and it lightened Konohamaru's heart to see the boy out on the town with Ran Umino a couple nights before. Adaha was a lot more shy, which meant he made fewer attempts and was easier to dodge, but he was still a problem. Fortunately, he had been able to find a believable excuse for turning him down nicely the first time he asked: He (as Hanabi) was being worked to death by Kakashi, and had developed something of a small cold. It didn't prevent his being able to work, and it only slightly diminished his chakra capacity so a simple soldier pill was all he needed to keep his disguise up for several more days, but it did mean he 'wasn't feeling well' (which was true) and 'couldn't waste the energy to go out on a date if she wanted to keep performing at her job' (which was also true), so 'she was sorry but she couldn't. Maybe next week?'

Which was why it was such a surprise to see Inari and Ran Umino waiting at the door to Hanabi's apartment for him. Konohamaru had been hoping that Umino would be enough to distract him until the real Hanabi returned, but apparently they were going to both come after him. This was... different. And unexpected. And, considering the depleted state of his chakra reserves, downright worrisome.

"Um... Hello. Why are you two here?" he asked, his voice disguised as it had been for the past week. Unlike Hanabi, who was actually using a costume to imitate Konohamaru's appearance and could therefore include some voice-changing equipment, he had been forced to actually change his own voice by himself. It was making him a bit hoarse, actually, and that had only added to the appearance of illness.

"Inari-kun told me about your cold," Ran replied politely. "We thought we might come and help take care of you."

Konohamaru sighed, rubbing his temples. _Oh, this is just great! It figured that something like this would happen. The best thing for my cold would be if the two of you left, but I guess I don't have much choice in that, do I?_

"Look, Hanabi-chan," Inari said, a very tiny crack of desperation coming through in his voice. "I'm very worried about you. You've been avoiding me -- and Adaha, and just about everyone else -- for an entire week. You'd opened up so much, lately, and now... now you seem to be backsliding. Is it something we've done? Was it that stupid tournament? What?"

Konohamaru shook his head, despairing slightly at the thought of trying to escape. "No, there's nothing you or anyone else has done. I'm just being overworked, and I'm a little sick, and I really just want to be left alone until I'm better."

"Have you had the medinin look at you, yet?" Inari asked in concern.

"No," Konohamaru replied. "And I'm not going to -- it's just a cold. What I need is simple bedrest, and that's what you two are keeping me from right now." In truth, he wanted to go to the medinin -- they'd likely have some sort of decongestant or something they could dispense from their pharmacy which would help treat the symptoms of his condition, even if they wouldn't fix the problem. However... a medinin would learn all too quickly just who he was, and he couldn't afford that.

"What about Sakura-san?" Ran suggested. "And, while we talk about this, why don't we go on in -- you're right. We are keeping you from your bedrest. We'll just help tuck you in, fix you dinner, and then we can talk about this some more once you're all set."

_Hm,_ Konohamaru thought. _Sakura-chan's not a bad idea, actually. She knows, after all._

"Please, guys, don't go to any trouble on my account," he said, still in his impersonation of Hanabi. Still, he unlocked the door. "And the place is a mess right now, because I haven't felt like cleaning, so I'd rather not have visitors..."

"We'll clean," Umino said. "And cook. All you have to do is go to bed."

Konohamaru hesitated. "Um... can I at least pick up a few things around my bedroom first, before I let you in?"

Before Inari could say anything, Umino nodded. "Sure! We'll just start in the kitchen while you do. Chicken flavored ramen noodles -- best thing for a cold, my father always said."

Konohamaru sighed -- while he loved ramen, and for more reasons then one, chicken was not his favorite flavor. However, he supposed he would have to put up with it. He disappeared into the bedroom and quickly took the change of clothes he had -- for his real self -- and hid them. With luck, no-one would find them and he could escape without having 'Hanabi' accused of having a strange guy in her bedroom. Then, finally, he crawled into bed -- he genuinely was exhausted, after all, and not just faking to get the two academy students out of the apartment -- and pulled up the covers. He couldn't afford to dispell the henge, however, which meant he couldn't go to sleep yet.

"Is it all right to come in?" Ran Umino's soprano voice called from the doorway.

Konohamaru glanced around the room to make sure there was no incriminating evidence of his impersonation of Hanabi. He had always been good in the deception and impersonation skills -- or, at least, he was once he realized that things like square rocks weren't exactly 'right' when it came to disguises -- but he'd never impersonated a girl, before. He didn't see anything too different from when he'd started staying there, though. "Sure."

"Thanks," she answered, coming through the door... and closing it behind her with_out_ Inari in tow as Konohamaru had expected. "Hanabi-chan... you and I need to _talk._"

Konohamaru suddenly felt a nervous sweat coming on. "Um, we do? Can't it wait?"

"No, I think it's best we have it now, when you're... vulnerable." The grin the girl flashed at him was rather... feral, and Konohamaru didn't like it one bit. "See, I want to talk with you about Inari-chan."

"Um, Umino-san, I'm not sure--"

"I love Inari-chan," she said slowly, dangerously. "But he's been dating you for quite some time. The way I see it, I have a few options, here."

Konohamaru swallowed nervously. Sure, he could easily defend himself from any Academy student, but just what would Ran be trying, anyway? "Um... and those options are?"

"Well, one, I could kill you," Umino said, grinning. Thankfully, it was easy enough to tell she wasn't... entirely serious.

"I'd like to see you try," Konohamaru shot back, knowing that both he and Hanabi would have the same reaction to that particular suggestion.

"True, it would be difficult," she replied. "I couldn't do it by force, but... well, there's always poison. Or hiring an assassin -- we _are_ in a ninja village, after all. Or I could just make certain... arrangements to get you assigned to a suicide mission."

Konohamaru smirked. "No you couldn't -- it's my job to assign who goes on what mission, remember?"

Umino flushed. "Okay, I was bluffing. I wasn't going to kill you, anyway."

"I know."

"I would like to make a proposal, however," she said, sitting on the bed next to him. "And I do mean a _proposal._"

"O-oh?" Konohamaru said, that bad feeling coming back again.

"Yes," she said, smiling down at him. "See, Hanabi-chan... I know Inari-chan_ likes_ you, just as I_ like _him. And... I can see why. You're a very pretty girl... you have long beautiful hair, a well-proportioned body -- too well-proportioned for girls our age, actually, but I gather that's from your heritage -- and you're quite... fit."

Konohamaru shifted uncomfortably under the blankets. He wanted to escape, but somehow she was able to pin him down in the bed without him noticing how. "Uh, thank you."

"So, I can see what Inari-chan _likes_ about you. And you know what?" Umino continued. She leaned down to whisper in what she thought was the other girl's ear. "I think I just might be able to find it in my heart to _like_ you, too."

Konohamaru gasped slightly. He tried to bring in enough control over himself that he could continue to talk like Hanabi, but he was worried that his voice would crack up when he spoke. Finally, however, he managed to say something. "Wh... what do you mean?"

"I'm willing to... allow Inari-chan to see you, still," she replied, allowing her tone to show just how reluctant she was to say that. "But there's a bit of a catch. First, you would have to share him. He started off as mine, and he'll end up as mine, but he could be 'ours' as well."

Konohamaru was afraid to ask, but did anyway. "And second?"

"_I_ get to see you, too," she replied, reaching out to tweak 'Hanabi's' chest provocatively. Her fingers passed through his illusion, however, encountering nothing but air. "What the--"

"Crap!" Konohamaru shouted, forgetting to disguise his voice but so startled he didn't sound like he usually did, anyway. With a panicked burst of speed, he ripped out of the bedcovers pinning him down and darted for the bedroom door. All he could think of, at that moment, was not blowing his cover... which was a problem, because it was already blown, but maybe if he got away then... well, he didn't know what do to, then. Just that he would almost certainly be in a better situation then he was, here. He slammed open, and through, the door at a run.

From the bedroom, Ran screamed. "Inari! Imposter! Stop her!"

Something wrapped around Konohamaru's wrists and ankles, pulling him back inches away from the front door. He couldn't tell what was being used -- it certainly wasn't wire and it felt a bit damp -- but it was sticky enough to be a nuisance. He looked down. "Ramen noodles? I couldn't even tie up a ninja with ramen noodles! Just what the hell are you being taught at the Academy, anyway?"

"Like we'd tell a spy," Inari growled, pulling the noodles back to try and reel in the trapped genin. "Now, who are you and _what_ are you doing impersonating Hanabi-chan?"

Konohamaru knew he couldn't say -- he just _knew_ it. The secret shouldn't be allowed to go out, and that was all he could think of. "You'll know soon enough," was all he could think to say, before flaring his chakra enough to disrupt Inari's control of the ramen noodles. With the required concentration to strengthen those noodles lost, he broke free of them and fled out the door. He knew they were following him -- and moving faster then he was, which was a bit of a surprise until he realized that his illness was making him sluggish. It was remembering his illness that inspired his next plan.

His strength was failing him, so he knew he couldn't pull the old 'bushin and split up' trick to throw them off the trail, but he did still have several of the basic evasion skills he'd been working on for years... including the ones he always used to screw up when dealing with Naruto. With that in mind, he made sure that the wood grain on the cloth was pointed the right way as he camoflagued himself in a fence.

Umino and Inari landed a few yards to his right, and started looking around. "Where did she go?" Inari asked.

"He," Umino said absently, scanning her surroundings. "Whoever it was definitely was _not_ a girl."

"How--"

He was interrupted when the girl smirked. "Oh, clever." She spun, delivering a powerful back-kick to the fence. The wooden structure shook and wobbled... but Konohamaru didn't. "There he is! Now!"

"Damn!" Konohamaru snapped, jumping to one side just seconds before three kunai would have buried themselves in his gut. He had to get away just long enough to get to where he was going, but it wasn't looking promising. And just how the hell did that girl figure him out, anyway? Somehow, he was being pursued by a couple of Academy students who were already a level ahead of most rookie genin... and things weren't getting any better.

"Hey!" a new voice cried out. "Why are you attacking Hanabi-chan!"

"It ain't Hanabi!" Umino snapped. "It's an imposter! Quick, help us catch him!"

"Sure thing!" Adaha said, leaping in front of the fleeing Konohamaru.

_Oh, crap -- now they've got someone with a chakra-sensing doujutsu!_ he grumbled. _At least he can't sense the internal flow of my chakra -- he could identify who I was if he had a full byakugan. But this is just going to complicate matters even further._

He kept running, hoping that his experience would help him evade their enthusiastic pursuit, despite the fact that his health was preventing him from being at his full strength. He knew that he'd made a mistake somewhere, though, and that he was just compounding it the more he went. He had to get to help, soon, or he had no clue what would happen.

Thankfully, he was near his destination. He skidded through the door, a wild look on his face. "I need to talk to Sakura-chan!" he shouted.

One of the nurses standing in conversation with the admissions clerks looked up. "I'm sorry, but she's out today. My, you don't look so well -- maybe I could help?"

He didn't even bother to answer, leaping away. He bounded from rooftop to rooftop, the trio of cadets still following him... and getting closer the longer he ran. _Where could she be? Is she at home? _With that in mind, he darted to Naruto's apartment, but found it locked up tight and nobody home. _Crap, _Konohamaru thought to himself. _Where to next?_

A flash of pink hair caught his eye, and he immediately leapt down in front of it. Upon closer examination, he could tell it wasn't Sakura... but it was close enough.

"Haruno-san!" he cried desperately. "You have to help me!"

The pink-haired woman smiled at him indulgently. "Of course, child. What seems to be the problem?"

"Three of your students," Konohamaru gasped out, panting. "They're chasing me."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "And why ever are they doing that, dear?"

"They think I'm an imposter!" he cried.

Haruno nodded slowly. "Yes... but you are one, aren't you?"

"Um... but not for the reason they suspect!" he explained.

"Of course not! They've caught you, though -- you should have told them right away, and brought them into the secret, though, instead of running -- all of my students are fairly trustworthy, and should at least be able to understand why you're doing this," she pointed out. "If you decide it isn't safe for them to go about knowing the secret, you could always confine them somewhere after you've made your explanations, and they'd probably even understand _that._ I suppose, though, it's a bit too late..."

"I think they'll kill me before I have a chance to explain," he said frantically.

"Okay, well then the obvious thing to do is to find a place where they'll actually listen to you and you can safely reveal yourself," she pointed out. "I suggest Ino's apartment, where my daughter is staying while Naruto-kun's away. She'll keep them at bay long enough to talk, and she knows your story already."

"Ino's? I thought she was living with Naruto!"

"She splits time in both places." Haruno glanced up. "You'd better hurry. Inari-chan and Adaha-chan are about to outflank you, and Umino-chan is already in front of you."

"Ack!"

Konohamaru leapt away, once again traversing rooftops in hopes of evading the three students. A second later, Inari leapt down in front of her. "Haruno-sensei! That was an imposter! He--"

"I know, Inari-chan," Haruno said, interrupting him. "Don't kill him -- he's one of us. Just follow him and explanations will be made."

"Well why didn't he just say so?" Inari asked rhetorically in disgust before running off after the imposter.

Konohamaru was getting more and more winded. He wouldn't have been able to hide, now, even if he normally could, thanks to a racking cough he had developed thanks to running for so long while ill. Finally, however, he managed to make his way to the apartment complex he knew Ino resided in. He'd only been there as a messenger a few times, before, but he thought he remembered which room was hers... at least, he hoped he did.

He almost passed one room before the door opened, a feminine arm reached out, and he was yanked inside with the door closed behind him. He went tumbling, almost crashing into a wall before he caught himself. Spinning around, he came face to face with the woman he'd been tearing all over town looking for -- Haruno Sakura.

She didn't exactly look pleased. "Mom called to explain. You should never have run, you know, right? I mean, these guys are your friends -- you could have brought them in on it easily enough."

Konohamaru sighed, then coughed. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm... not exactly thinking clearly."

Sakura's face softened, and she sighed. "Well, I guess the fault is ours. We didn't exactly give you instructions for what to do if you were caught. So, what gave you away?"

He looked up at the pink-haired girl with a rather disturbed expression. "Another girl tried to grab my boobs, and found that I didn't actually have any."

Sakura's eyes widened, her face pinkening to just a shade off of her hair, before she burst out laughing. "Oh, geeze -- well, that's one thing we never anticipated, that's for sure! Lie down on the couch and drop the henge. I'll take a look at you -- that cough doesn't sound very good."

"Inari-chan, Umino-chan, and Adaha-chan--"

"Have already been told that you're working for us. I'll explain it all to them when they show up. Now, lie down!"

Not able to sense the concern behind the impatience, Konohamaru almost resisted... but he was starting to feel a little woozy, and gave in to her commands. Recovering the chakra he could from dropping the henge, he did feel a little better... but that couch looked awfully good right about then.

Sakura watched as the boy almost instantly fell asleep, and in a near panic ran a diagnostic technique over his body. What she determined was that he was suffering from a combination of chakra exhaustion, the flu, and mental stress. None of the three were very serious, on their own, but together they would be a definite problem unless they were treated. Sakura contemplated 'talking' to Kakashi about his needing to look after his staff, better, but decided she would just mention it to Naruto and see if _he_ could take care of things. At any rate, it seemed as if the deception was over -- there was no way Konohamaru could go back to impersonating Hanabi as he was.

She went over to the pack containing her ninja gear and pulled out a vial of medicine. She forced Konohamaru to drink it without waking him and then covered him with a blanket and straightened him out so he was comfortable. Finally, reassured to her satisfaction that he was on the road to recovery, she took a deep breath and stepped out of Ino's front door.

"There you are!" Inari complained. "Haruno-sensei told us to follow him and that we'd be told what was going on. So, spill, what's happening?"

"Not here," Sakura admonished. "Inside. But be silent -- the person you were chasing is very ill, and they just fell asleep. He needs his sleep if he wants to get better, understood?"

"Okay," Inari said. That promise accepted, the pink-haired young woman lead them through the apartment and into her bedroom. All three student's eyes widened as they recognized the boy asleep on the couch -- obviously the boy who had been Hanabi's imposter. Ran flushed, recalling what she had admitted to the boy... and that she had yet to even talk to Inari about the same issue. In a town full of ninja, she had just granted one ideal blackmail material over her.

Once the three students had passed into the next room, Sakura closed her door. "Okay, now, talk quietly. Every room in this building is soundproofed, thanks to us being ninja, but if we raise our voices too much we can still be heard... and I don't want to risk waking up Konohamaru-kun any time soon."

"What's going on?" Umino demanded, keeping her voice down but still showing her anger. "I said some... very personal things to someone I thought was Hanabi-chan. Now, I find out it isn't her, at all, but this... this... boy!"

"Calm down," Sakura ordered. "Konohamaru-kun has been impersonating Hanabi in order to protect her."

"Hanabi-chan's at the chuunin exam, isn't she?" Inari mused. "And no-one wants Cloud to know she's there."

"Exactly," Sakura said. "But Konohamaru's sick, so he can't keep the charade up any longer I fear."

"I could take over for him," Inari suggested. "Or we three all could -- we'd tag-team it. It should be possible -- I know henge pretty well, and so do Ran and Adaha. Sure, we're just Academy students, but--"

"I don't think that's necessary," Sakura interrupted. "The written test was today. They'll be making arrangements to leave right away, so they'll be gone by evening. As long as no-one leaves this apartment tonight, not even anyone _here_ will know about the deception. And Naruto's there to protect them, so everything will go... alright. Um, I don't feel so good, all of a sudden." Her eyes lost focus, and she clenched her stomach as if she was in pain.

"Sakura-sensei?" Adaha queried, looking at her. "Your chakra is... acting very funny."

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed, her voice echoing around the apartment. The eerie red glow of her chakra lit up the room.

"Sakura-sensei?" Adaha asked.

She blinked, shaking her head. "Scrap everything I just said. Umino-chan, you're the fastest person here. As fast as you can, run to Kakashi's office. Tell him to get whoever can be spared ready to go out on a mission!"

"What's going on?" Inari asked as Ran sped off to follow her orders.

"I'm not sure," she said, standing slowly. Her eyes had turned red, and she might even have had fangs growing out of her mouth. "But I think our team in Cloud may need some help. Naruto... just summoned a _lot_ of power."

* * *

Notes: I will let you know only three things of any import to the story happened this chapter. Those three are Umino revealing her... intentions to 'Hanabi,' Inari demonstrating that the cadets are actually pretty far along by now, and Sakura 'feeling' Naruto in trouble. Everything else is just filler, although filler that is consistent with the rest of the storyline containing info that may or may not have been quite so obvious before (for example, Konohamaru being able to maintain a henge that long, and reinforcement of how Adaha and Inari have agreed not to fight over Hanabi, etc.). So, no, Konohamaru's illness is NOT that important to the story.

Next chapter: Hanabi is nearly crushed, and reveals her clan heritage in order to survive. Oh, and both cliffhangers should be resolved, but only if it all fits into one chapter like I hope.


	47. V3 Chapter 37

Volume 3

Notes: I was astonished at the number of people who actually had an inkling of who it was, much less who got it right. My hat's off to you -- and I hope the reason it's him is plausible enough for you.

* * *

Chapter 37

"I thought you were dead," Hanabi snarled.

"Well, yeah, that was intentional," the ninja standing at the door -- and, she noticed, trapping her inside of the bathroom -- replied. "We knew you Hyuuga wouldn't give up one of your own if just some poor Cloud slob got himself killed, but if it were a head ninja -- a clan head, like myself, for example -- were to be killed... well, then you'd have no choice but to relent. But how many times does someone as important as a clan head get himself assigned on a suicide mission? No, we had someone who resembled me disguise himself to look exactly like me, and sent him on that mission. But how do you recognize who I am... boy?"

_He sure as hell sounds like he knows I'm in disguise, but does he know I'm a Hyuuga? I'd better be careful -- there's a chance I'll have to fight him, and I can't afford to give away my Hyuuga heritage if so,_ Hanabi thought to herself. "You should be proud. Your picture made it to several of the history textbooks in Konoha."

"Did it really?" Sinobi Gashir, the Cloud ninja who was thought to have been killed after a failed kidnapping attempt on Hanabi's sister, Hinata, smirked slightly at the news. "I'm impressed -- you must have taken that picture in the few hours before I was 'killed.' To prevent any chance of people discovering our little subterfuge, I had been avoiding cameras the entire time I was there. We even made sure that the body of the man who was my imposter was destroyed before anyone had a chance of examining it close enough to see that it wasn't really me. If you got a picture, it must have actually been of him... because I know I wasn't photographed."

"Are you sure?" Hanabi asked defiantly. "We might have gotten your picture before without you knowing it. We're... resourceful."

He smiled indulgently. "I suppose that's possible."

"One thing bothers me, though," Hanabi said. "You've been in hiding since that day, and suddenly... you reveal yourself to us by following me all the way here. Why is that?"

"I was interested in 'the son of the hokage,' that you are supposed to be. I didn't expect you to recognize me," Gashir explained, his grin darkening. "Unfortunately, you did... which means, I'm afraid, that I'll have to kill you."

"Well, I expected as much," Hanabi replied, unphased. "I am curious, though -- how do you plan to cover this up? It would likely cause a bit of an international incident if I were to die, here."

"We're fairly resourceful, as you might imagine," Gashir said, pulling out a small sword of some sort -- a kind Hanabi didn't recognize, so it wasn't a standard ninja-to, nor the wakizashi, katana, or kodachi that samurai used. "See this blade? It's typically only used by a rather obscure ninja village I doubt you've even heard of. Turns out they happen to have a team, here, though... and that one of their team members is perhaps a bit overambitious."

"Ah, the old 'shift the blame' ploy," Hanabi said, nodding. "You know, of course, that no-one will believe you."

"Of course not! We're ninja, we're expected to lie. But it's a lie just plausible enough to be true, and so your countrymen will have a hard time acting on that disbelief."

Hanabi sighed, summoning some chakra to her feet and hands. She might not be able to use all of her skills and maintain her cover at the same time, but this guy -- despite his attitude -- didn't seem all that tough. Even without the Hyuuga techniques she knew, she felt as if she should be able to at least clear a path out of the bathroom and to somewhere where he wouldn't be able to get away with killing her, so easily. Assuming she couldn't beat him on her own, anyway. "Well, then... let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Yes," Gashir replied, still smiling but this time with bared teeth, so it looked more like a snarl. "Let's."

He darted in with unexpected speed, but Hanabi was ready. After having spent a week training with Moegi, Hanabi could deal with almost triple the speed Gashir was displaying and still function effectively. Hanabi just smirked as his hand slammed into -- and through -- her. "Sure thing," she said, then with a puff of smoke transformed into the metal divider seperating off the urinals from the sinks. The sink and faucet combination, plus a three foot length of countertop, also disappeared in smoke and revealed itself to be the ninja girl (still in her Konohamaru disguise) as she leapt forward, intending to clothesline her attacker while his arm was still trapped.

His arm, however, ripped out of the metal plate, backhanding Hanabi across the room. She crashed into one of the porcelain toilets, shattering it and causing a fountain of water to explode behind her. Before she could recover, he once again reached out to throw her around the room, this time slamming her to the floor. Her whole body stung with the force of the blow, and she still couldn't move her extremities when his whole body weight slammed into her chest, pinning her down with his knees.

"Crap," she muttered.

"Hm," her attacker said, glancing at her curiously. "I guess that toilet water ruined your voice changer, didn't it... Hyuuga Hanabi-san?"

_Crap! He knows exactly who I am! But... but how?_ She thought. "How... who..."

"Let's just say I knew before you even left Blossom," Gashir said teasingly. "As far as who... well, I'm afraid, as you know, that our sources and methods are our most important secrets. I suppose it wouldn't really matter, since you'll be dead in a moment, anyway, but--"

"Why are you doing this?" Hanabi growled, ignoring the taunts. "What do you want from me?"

Gashir smiled cruelly. "I'd like your eyes, if you please, and then your guaranteed silence... and the only way silence can be guaranteed is if you're dead."

Hanabi glared up at him defiantly. "You know that won't work. You got nothing, last time, even though we sent you one of our own."

"Ah, foolish child, do you really think you can bluff me like that?" Gashir asked, shaking his head sadly. "Listen, girl, there's a few things you need to know. Your clan's secrets? Certain things -- like what happens when a man inflicted with the 'caged bird' seal is killed -- are pretty well known, you know. I'd probably have known it, anyway, however. See... I'm something of an _expert _on your clan around here. I probably know things about your family that even you don't know. I've been rather... thorough in my studies on your people, after all... because the only way I can regain my life is if I finally get those Hyuuga eyes."

"What are you talking about?" Hanabi gasped, struggling to free herself. Gashir was struggling as well, as he talked, trying to free a hand to grab the knife he intended to kill her with.

"That bloody mission your father and uncle ruined for us!" her attacker growled fiercely. "It should have been so simple! I knew, going in, that if it failed I would be unable to reveal myself again -- at least, not until we got another pair of Hyuuga eyes... eyes like _yours!_ But that didn't seem all that horrible a risk. There was a decent chance that even my imposter might have managed to complete his assignment and kidnap your sister for us, but even if he failed we expected to succeed. You Hyuuga are so uppity and superior, but that superiority complex is accompanied by a paranoia that ruins the lives of everyone in it!

"I was aware your father had a twin. I knew what could happen if that twin sacrificed himself, and what the caged bird seal that twin held could do. But I was _certain_ there was no chance for the substitution to be made! No-one cared for your father, after all, just as no-one cares for any of you Hyuuga. Your branch family has become so embittered over the way you main liners treat them that they resent everyone. You main liners are so smug that you drive away any chance of friendship from those outside your clan, and so obsessed with power that you drive yourselves away from each other because of the hatred of those weaker then you... and you always assume you're the strongest of your clan."

_It... it can't be true! It can't! Can it? _Hanabi wondered. _But, then again... isn't that what this whole civil war we're having is about? Hanabi wants to seek friendship and companionship outside of the clan, and the response is to beat it down. Father is trying to get each Hyuuga to be civil to each other, but because of that he is ostracized and berated. It's true... everything he is saying is true! My clan... my clan is a disaster, and... and what? What action has to be taken? What could I do? My mother's goals are obviously flawed, but who do I chose to side with now? My father, who wants to rebuild the clan from the inside? My sister, who wants to bring in outsiders to repair the clan? Or... or is there another path?_

"I..." she began.

"Shut up!" he screamed, and it was then -- seeing the wild look in his eyes -- that Hanabi realized just how insane Gashir had become. Gone were the smirks and smiles, replaced by a snarl and wide, gleaming, red-laced eyes of the sort she had only seen in the crazed. His sensibility was gone, if it had ever been there, and that meant she was in a much worse situation then she feared. There was always a chance of talking to a rational person -- perhaps some sort of bluff could be made, or she could negotiate to be captured live, or something like that -- but a crazed man could not be talked with. Not that she could do much talking at that moment -- he'd just leaned down so his forearm was almost crushing her windpipe, and she couldn't have said a word if she'd wanted to. "Any right you had to talk vanished when your fucking uncle decided to ruin my plans by protecting his brother out of _spite,_ not care. Damn him, and damn your whole clan! And damn you, as I send you to hell the same way all Hyuuga go there -- alone and friendless!"

He had finally pulled freed his knife hand, and drew it back. Hanabi tried to summon what chakra she could, hoping to make a last-ditch effort to throw him off, but it was no good. She didn't have enough leverage to do anything, even if she had the strength... which she wasn't sure she had against this adreniline and insanity-strengthened monster attacking her. Her vision started blurring as she was choked, and she could almost feel him drawing the dagger back to finish her off with. She was dead -- she knew it, and accepted it. _At least,_ she thought, _this means I won't have to puzzle out just what to do about my clan, doesn't it?_

"I wouldn't exactly call her _alone,_" a voice erupted from the bathroom doorway. An instant later, that declaration was followed by a fist the size of an elephant driving Gashir across the bathroom into the tiled wall perpendicular to Hanabi, shattering it. The fist retracted, and the Hyuuga girl could just barely -- through the spots in her eyes caused by oxygen deprivation -- make out a rather fierce-looking Moegi step through. "And she isn't friendless, either. She has quite a few friends back in Blossom... and I think I might be willing to become one of them, after hearing all that."

"M... moegi-chan?" Hanabi rasped, shaking her head to try and clear the cobwebs out of it.

"I saw him following you and I decided to investigate," Moegi explained. "Sorry that I'm late, but I was trying not to be seen, and I figured you could handle yourself until I caught up with you."

"S'ok," was all that the other girl could slur out. Her throat appeared slightly damaged, now that she was paying attention to it, and the prolonged inability to breath had left her dizzy. She was alive, however, and that was what mattered. "Good timing."

"Come on," Moegi said, reaching over to help her up. "Let's get out of here."

"I don't think we can allow that," came yet another voice from the doorway. This one was unknown to the Blossom genin, who both looked at the source in surprize. Almost a dozen Cloud ninja, all obviously ready for battle, were between them and the doorway.

"About damned time you showed up," Gashir spat, pulling himself from the wreckage of the wall. "I told you I didn't want to take a Hyuuga brat alone! What kept you?"

"We spotted the other genin following you," the apparent leader of the other Cloud nin replied stiffly. "We figured it would be best to wait until we could trap both of them. You seemed to have things well in hand, here."

The sudden change in Gashir's attitude was eerie. "Oh, good job, then. Well, I'll deal with the interloper for now. You keep the Hyuuga brat from escaping until I'm ready to deal with her, okay?"

"Certainly, Sinobi-sama," came the reply.

Moegi grimmaced. "Can you fight, Hanabi-chan?"

Hanabi plucked the colored contacts out of her eyes, reached inside her robes to rip off the breast bindings which were making it hard for her to breath, and sighed. "I think so."

Moegi grinned darkly. "Then let's show these sons of bitches just how big of a mistake it is to mess with us Blossom girls, eh?"

Hanabi smirked. "Yes, let's. Byakugan!"

Now free of the restrictions against using her Hyuuga talents, she had no qualms against plowing through the new arrivals. Moegi, deciding to leave them to the revived Hanabi, turned her attention to this Sinobi person who had started this whole mess. For someone who was just thrown against a wall so hard that it shattered, he looked to be in pretty good shape. Still, Moegi was pretty certain she could take him -- especially after the way he'd been so badly caught off guard by her initial attack.

"So... Sinobi, huh?" she spat. "That name rings a bell. Aren't you dead?"

Gashir glared at her. "Only to the world... but I can resurrect myself if I can just get that brat's eyes!"

"You'll have to get through me, first," Moegi growled.

"Not a problem," he replied, smirking. "You genin... you think just because you know a few tricks and may be a little better then the average genin that you're actually capable of beating someone like me. Hah! I'm prepared to face an army of Hyuuga, all on my own -- there is no way you can beat me!"

"We'll just have to see about that!" the girl snapped, leaping in with a powerful spinning back kick. He ducked underneath her foot, so the used the inertia generated by her attack to adjust her target properly for an elbow delivered with blazing speed. Again, he avoided the blow, but she already had a fist coming in to follow it. She was moving so fast by this point that there was no way for him to dodge -- Moegi could be certain of a blow landing this time.

And the blow did land... directly into Gashir's palm, where he caught the punch as casually as if he was brushing away a fly. "When preparing to fight a Hyuuga, you must be prepared to defeat a world-class ninja without your chakra always available to you. Exceptional speed and strength aren't enough to beat them, alone, but without it you will be at a severe disadvantage should they apply certain techniques against you. Your speed and strength is enough to _almost_ challenge a lesser Hyuuga... but then again, I'm ready to face a strong Hyuuga, so that doesn't exactly help you this time." Moegi tried to pull away, but he held her hand tightly, preventing her movement without any visible effort. He smirked. "Say 'goodbye,' brat."

Unable to put up a decent guard with the way he was controlling one of her arms, she was unable to prevent the powerful blow his meaty fist delivered to her gut. She felt her own ribs cracking as she went flying backwards, into the same wrecked wall that she had thrown Gashir into, earlier. Only, in her case, she landed worse, and she was hurt worse. At least one arm was dislocated, she was having trouble breathing, and... after a moment of assessing the damage to herself, Moegi had to pause -- the blood welling in her throat had to be coughed up before she choked to death. _Great, _she thought, _internal bleeding, too._

"Did you really think a pathetic little genin like yourself could beat someone like me?" Gashir asked, standing over her. "Now, let's finish you off before you decide to make things worse on yourself, shall we?"

He once again pulled out the wicked-looking dagger he had been threatening Hanabi with earlier. Moegi glanced up at it, but had a hard time focusing. _Perfect! A concussion, too! _She tried to stand herself up, but the movement made her too dizzy and she collapsed into the rubble again. She was in trouble, and there wasn't anyone who could help her now. She had to manage on her own... or so she thought.

A loud cry of "Kaiten!" erupted from the other side of the room. With that, all twelve of the ninja surrounding Hyuuga Hanabi went flying, crashing into various walls, structures, and even one rather unlucky one into a mirror. Her spin ended with a dark glare at Gashir.

The enraged man shook his head in disbelief. "Look, you're both going to die. Why do you two keep interrupting me before I kill your companions? It's just going to prolong their -- and your -- agony, anyway. After all, what do you think you can do to me, anyway?"

Hanabi smirked. "There's actually quite a bit I can do. After all... as my cousin would say, you are within the range of my divination."

"Wha-- oof!" Sixty four precisely aimed blows struck him in rapid succession, the last one knocking him off his feet. His dagger fell from his hand and skidded away. Hanabi ignored him, turning her attention to Moegi's health -- after all, she knew she'd hit him right. There was no way he would be getting up from that. Only Hanabi was mistaken, as she sensed only a few seconds later. Gashir stood up, slowly, and wiped some blood off his lip.

"Sixty-four strikes. Hm, interesting -- our reports didn't say you knew that technique," he said slowly.

"I imagine your reports are missing a great deal of information about me," Hanabi said, taking a defensive position to protect Moegi. She doubted there was much the man could do, still, but he had said something about having prepared to fight without his chakra, so perhaps there was a little to be concerned with.

"I'm curious, though... why the sixty-four hits, and not the hundred twenty-eight?"

"The hundred twenty-eight?" she asked, startled. "I barely even know _about_ that one! It's such an obscure technique with such limited application..."

"It's a definite improvement over the sixty-four, however," Gashir pointed out. "The sixty four only depletes your opponents chakra reserves. The hundred and twenty eight disables his ability to regenerate chakra for some time. The difference... matters."

"I don't see how," Hanabi replied. Was he just stalling for time? Hanabi couldn't determine why he was bothering to mention all of this -- although she was definitely very curious as to how someone outside of the clan knew of that technique, much less what it did.

"Simple," he replied. "All a person needs is one of these," he pulled out a soldier pill, "and they can restore all of that lost chakra in an instant... if you've only used the sixty-four." He tossed the pill into his mouth casually, and chewed it. The chakra boost was instant and overwhelming -- Hanabi's byakugan vision nearly blinded her as it flared, in much the same way a camera's flashbulb could blind a person with normal eyes.

He was upon her in that instant, striking fast and furious. Hanabi blocked and attempted to counterattack, but it seemed his boasts of studying to fight her clan were not so exaggerated, after all -- every time she tried a precision strike on one of his tenketsu, he moved just enough for her aim to be off. Every time she attempted a chakra-powered jyuken palm fist -- or any other kind of punch, for that matter -- he would either dodge or block with a blow to her wrists. She was wearing herself down, as well -- after fighting for so long, she was fairly low on energy. The biggest difference in the potential power between her and her cousin Neji, her father had once told her, was that she while her control was better and her ability to learn and adapt new techniques was his match, she would never be the equal in chakra generation and storage that he was even as a genin. That lack of capacity was dooming her, here, as she was running out of time to finish the battle. To make matters worse, the ninja she had stunned earlier with the kaiten were now back on their feet and blocking the only avenue of retreat she had. Unless she got a hit in, soon, there wasn't much of a chance for her to make it out of their alive... and Moegi needed a hospital soon, or she would be dead as well.

_Speaking of which, where is she?_ Hanabi wondered, noticing for the first time through her byakugan that the body she had been defending was just a clone... although she knew it had been the original when she was first hurt. _I don't want her killed because I became this madman's target. Maybe she found a way to hide in the debris..._

_Or maybe she's still able to fight, after all, _she thought as Gashir staggered into one of Hanabi's palms as a powerful blow hit him from behind. Moegi, breathing hard and with blood dribbling from her mouth, emerged from the shadows that had been concealing her to form on Hanabi's flank. Taking a corresponding stance, the Hyuuga girl prepared to double-team Sinobi and -- hopefully -- disable him long enough to escape. Of course, they would still have to fight their way through those dozen ninja guarding the door, but she was confident she could handle that.

"You're... toast, Sinobi," Moegi gasped.

Gashir stepped back, shaking his head. "I'm afraid you've got that backwards. Yes, between the two of you I've recieved a few lucky blows... but nothing that truly hurt me. You two, on the other hand, are half-dead and drained of chakra. And I've got twelve good men on my side, as well, so--"

"Gatsuuga!" cried a voice, and a pair of whirlwinds plowed through the doorway and the men guarding it. When they came to a stop, two bestial Inuzuka Futaba stood crouched in front of the two wounded girls. "Hmm... a dozen good men, huh? They're not that good as far as I can tell."

Gashir's eyes widened. "Argh! Just how many of you nuissances must I defeat! You... you're just genin! You can't beat me, even if all three of you team up! None of your blows hurt me, none of your attacks do more then annoy me, and all you do by showing up is force me to kill you! Genin cannot hope to win against me! _Why_ do you continue to fight?"

Futaba snorted. "Please, we could beat you easy, if we wanted. But you don't have to face another genin in me."

"I... I don't?"

"Nah! I was just tracking the blood scent down and clearing a path... for him."

She gestured with her thumb to the now badly abused door. Slowly marching through, chakra blazing red around him and eyes wild, Naruto let out a low growl. "Okay... just who in the hell are you, and why are you attacking my people?"

"Another one? Geeze, you Konoha ninja are pests, even when you move out of that rat hole!" Gashir snarled. "I suppose I'll deal with you, first, although a chuunin is just barely a step up from a genin. You're really the same strength, it's just you chuunin are supposed to have enough experience to command... although if this is an example of your leadership ability, I think you need a demotion."

"Shut... up," Naruto howled -- literally -- as the kyuubi parts of him flared. "The genin are under our protection, and we can smell that you've spilled their blood. I think we remember something about you, now... that you're supposed to be some sort of clan or political leader... that you're the reason Neji grew up without a father... and that you're supposed to be dead. Usually, I will spare a person who I fight at least once, hoping that there is a way to make them regret their actions, but you're already supposed to be 'dead' anyway. We think we'll change that third part from 'supposed to be' to 'is,' now."

Futaba's eyes widened. Her gasp of "Is that the kyuubi speaking?" wasn't heard by any save Moegi and Hanabi as Gashir and Naruto clashed. Gashir charged in, fist-first, as the trio of genin looked on, but Naruto stood unflinching. In the last moment, the blond chuunin raised his forearm to block the punch, directing it just to his right and using the momentum of the attack to throw the older man off balance. Gashir was so startled that his attack had been so easily deflected that he allowed a simple punch inside his own guard, sending him flying back the way he came.

Naruto rubbed his forearm where the blow had landed. "Hm... that stung a bit. You've got a pretty powerful punch... almost as powerful as Sakura-mate uses when we spar together."

"She's that strong?" Moegi muttered to herself. She had heard quite a bit about how powerful the hokage's apprentice had become, but if Naruto was telling the truth and not simply bluffing, then she was actually significantly stronger then even Moegi believed possible.

Futaba looked at Gashir for a moment. He was on his knees, bent over gasping from the blow to his gut. In fact, he was struggling to breath. A smirk slowly emerged on her face as she stood behind him and grabbed a kunai. "Konohagakura furui taijutsu suukoujutsu: Itami no sennen!" she cried.

Hanabi had been passed out the last time that technique had been performed, and Moegi hadn't watched the match, but the story of the Thousand Years of Pain technique's application to the hindquarters of Futaba had quickly run throughout the village of Blossom. While it had been a bit embarrassing, at first, Futaba had grown to enjoy the notoriety... but there were a few stored feelings still waiting to be released from that incident. Her instituting the same attack against Sinobi Gashir, the man who had faked his own death in a diabolical plot to kill a member of the Hyuuga clan and steal their eyes, seemed to be... oddly appropriate to them both. The fact that she was using a sharp metal kunai when applying it only made it more effective.

"Yeargh!" he screamed, leaping away from the sudden intrusion. He felt... crazed, and he couldn't explain it. He started running, stopping only when he plowed through his own team of ninja and crashed into a wall head-first. He collapsed instantly, as if the wires on a puppet were cut.

Naruto sniffed, glaring at the conscious Cloud ninja. "Hm. Do any of you still want to fight?" After being knocked down, around, and out several times in the previous five minutes, there wasn't any debate before they ran off -- something which suspiciously hinted that they were not on official business while going after Hanabi, as no ninja worthy of the name would abandon a real mission like that, even after such a poor performance. It was something to consider for later, but Naruto wasn't concerned with them. His focus was on Gashir. "Now... we said we would change that 'supposed to be dead' to 'is dead,' didn't we? Funny, after shrugging off our earlier blow, we'd have thought he'd still be fighting from a little wimpy attack like that. He must be weak in the head... perhaps that's what I'll save until last."

Hanabi blinked. She had never heard Naruto sound quite so... bloodthirsty, before. He sounded almost demonic, even, and that was... concerning. Moegi looked uncomfortable, as well, but Futaba seemed to know just what was going on, so she supposed it would end up okay. She was more concerned with recovering from her concussion to care.

"Leader," Futaba said, stepping between him and the unconscious body. "Not in cold blood, okay? We've got more important things to deal with."

Red-tinged eyes glared at her. "I've sworn to protect our own, whelp, and for some reason I consider you our own. But we've granted me some release, for the moment, and this madman is a perfect target for that release. Why should I withdraw back into my prison, now, when we've given me a little free reign, for once?"

Futaba sighed, pointing over Naruto's shoulder. He turned to see a barely conscious Moegi, coughing up a little more blood as she staggered to her feet, supported by Hanabi. "I agree, he should die. But killing him in cold blood -- even though he is supposed to already be dead -- will cause an international incident. We would at least need an unbiased witness to his aggression, and we have none. Cloud will launch a war against Blossom, and even if you fought at your strongest on our side there is no way for Blossom to survive an attack by arguably the third most powerful military force currently in existence. 'Your own' would be killed, brutally, and all for a moment's pleasure. And while you had that moment's pleasure, Moegi-chan over there will be clinging to life by a thread. So tell me, kyuubi, how will that be keeping your vow?"

Naruto's gaze shifted from Moegi to Gashir in indecision. Finally, he growled, "Fine, no death. But we need a trophy -- proof that Gashir is still alive. So that Cloud will answer for its crimes against Hanabi-chan's uncle. You can choose what to take. I would suggest his eyes, but that might be too bloody for you, as it is too bloody for me."

_Sheesh, a disagreement between me, myself, and I, huh?_ Futaba mused, glancing at the fallen Gashir. An ANBU would have no qualms about following the Kyuubi's suggestion and taking one of Gashir's eyes, but Futaba was no hunter nin, nor did she want to be one. Then, an idea occured to her. "Hm... what would it take to tie Sakura-chan up so tightly that she couldn't escape?"

Naruto, the red of kyuubi's influence still in his eyes, colored his cheeks to match in embarrassment. "Um... how would I know? We aren't... we haven't..."

Futaba giggled. "I was wondering about that, but that's not what I meant. I mean, if Sakura-chan is actually stronger then he is, and we tied him up in such a way that even she couldn't escape... maybe our 'trophy' could actually be a prisoner? Who would then be sent back to Konoha under the guard of the five jounin who are substituting for us as we speak..."

Naruto grinned, revealing just how much his fangs had grown as he'd allowed kyuubi to take over. "Oh, I like that idea! Hm... Hanabi-chan, I need several strands of your hair. You're the only one who has enough hair for this." Hanabi blinked, but plucked five strands out from her head and handed them to him. Naruto examined the ends, discarding two of them. "This only works if you got some of the root so that it can be treated as 'alive.' Now, let's see, how did Ero-sennin do this with the hair thing and not ramen noodles? Ah, yes, now I remember!"

He quickly did a simple braid of the three strands, lacing a wire through them. Finally, he seemed to implant his chakra in it before reaching over and binding Gashir's arms behind his back. He bent over to examine his handiwork.

Futaba did not seem impressed. "This guy is 'almost as strong as Sakura-mate,' and you think a few small pieces of hair and a wire can hold him?"

"Meh," Naruto snorted. "Even one of Blossom's Academy students could manage it, with a wire and some live hair, as long as they remember that trick I taught them with the ramen noodles. If the hair was dead, yeah, I could see your point -- it might be enough to hold you or Hanabi-chan, but someone as strong as Gashir needs a live one. But as long as it's got a little life in it, I can make it strong enough to bind him. Maybe not enough to bind Sakura-chan when she's a bit moody, but him? Yeah."

The change in his pronouns and in the honorific for Sakura comforted Futaba -- he was back to normal, mostly, it seemed -- but Naruto hadn't quite fully left Kyuubi's grasp if his eyes were to be believed. Still, she'd take it. "Good. Now that he's tied up, what do we do for Moegi-chan?"

Naruto grimmaced. The young Akimichi girl wasn't looking very good, and that was definitely some cause for concern. She needed treatment, that was for sure... but there was a bit of a problem. "We don't have a medical ninja here, and we can't go to any of the locals for this." He frowned. "I might be able to do something, but... it'll be hard, and it won't heal her completely."

"I don't think we have time to worry about that," Hanabi pointed out. "I'm sensing a growing mob outside of this room."

"Hm... I think you guys are going to be making your promotion official a bit sooner then we'd planned. Hanabi-chan, keep them out of the room. Puppy girl, keep an eye on our prisoner. I'll do what I can for Moegi-chan, and then we're getting out of here... and escaping from Cloud when there's a mob outside and keeping a prisoner should at _least_ be considered a B-class mission," Naruto pointed out. "So, from now until we get back to Blossom, you're all acting-chuunin."

"You're a chuunin," Hanabi pointed out, standing at the door. So far, no-one was trying to come in, but she felt capable of defending the entrance if someone did, at least. "Chuunin aren't allowed to assign missions. It won't stick."

"It will," Naruto replied. "Sure, I'll need approval after the fact, but I think I can convince Kakashi-sensei to accept it."

"And if he doesn't?" Hanabi asked, curious. "He's been acting wierd since the mission to Blossom started, you know."

"If he doesn't... well, I think I might just go over his head," Naruto growled, picking up Moegi gently. "The hokage owes me a favor or two, and I can call one in for this. Now... shut up and let me get to work -- this could take a couple minutes, and I won't be able to fight until I'm done."

"Yes, sir," Hanabi said, recognizing the order in that complaint -- he needed a couple minutes of protection, and she would give it to him. Naruto, cradling the injured girl, sat down and began to meditate.

_Okay, fox, _Naruto said to the kyuubi. _You've made your pledge, and so far you've kept it. Well, guess what? It's not enough. We didn't get here in time to protect Moegi-chan, so now I'm going to have to ask you to share our healing power a little bit._

_It doesn't work that way, brat_, kyuubi snorted. _I can heal you because I'm inside you. I'm not inside her._

Naruto hesitated. _What if we shared blood?_

_You mean as in a relative? _Kyuubi asked. _Not unless they were a direct decendent of yours, no._

_No, I mean what if I cut my hand and dripped my blood into her wound -- you know, like those 'blood brother' ceremonies I read about as a kid._

_You still are a kid, brat_, Kyuubi snorted. _I... I dunno. I can't imagine it would work as well as it would for you, and our two bloods would have to actually be flowing together._

_Concentrate on healing the internal bleeding,_ Naruto suggested, taking out a kunai. _Everything else can heal on its own._

_I know what I'm doing! Just make sure you keep your end of the bargain, _Kyuubi snorted.

Naruto sliced a deep wound into Moegi's hand, and then another in his own. He pressed the two wounds together, and started using his chakra to help the kyuubi feed his healing strength into the other girl, who by this time was fairly out of things. The red chakra came up to surround them both, flashing brighter and stronger then it had since he'd fought the Grass in Rainbow. His own skin started burning with the sheer power he was emitting, and both Futaba and Hanabi were struggling to stay where they were the backwash from his chakra flare was so great. It didn't last long -- only a few seconds -- but Naruto could sense that it worked. At least a little bit.

_It's a good thing those internal injuries weren't so bad,_ Kyuubi commented. _We used up just about all of our combined chakra, and all we managed to do was stop the internal bleeding._

Naruto didn't think anything back, but instead addressed the genin. "Small change of mission plans: I think you're going to have to get me out of here, too." With that, he passed out.

* * *

Notes: Sorry, didn't quite fit the conclusion of Sakura's side of the story here. It wound up being a bit too long to get to this point.

I used the phrase 'as if the wires on a puppet were cut' to describe a person being knocked out, above. Please do NOT use this to imagine that we have a case of ninja puppetry going on, here -- after Sakura's Battle That Just Wouldn't End, I'm so sick of ninja puppetry that you can count on it being banned from this fic. I initially liked the concept, and HAD intended to MAYBE include something like it, at some point, but... now, I just wish ninja puppetry had never been concieved of.

Er... some of Naruto's dialogue got a bit tense-odd due to the fact the Kyuubi was speaking through him. I hope that didn't get too confusing, but if it did I'm sorry.

Okay, I KNOW I'm going to get more complaints about how powerful I made Naruto. I could point out that his opponent, who in my mind might have been on par with Zabuza, was being beaten around by three genin while Naruto could take on a whole ninja village by himself, but I think I'd rather explain a bit about the power rankings, as they stand now. He will be moving up before the end of Volume 3, but currently, there are these (known, if only vaguely) characters who are, or in some cases were before they died, more powerful then he is -- Tsuchikage, Itachi, Sasuke, the Fourth (despite Kyuubi and Jiraiya's training -- I rate the 4th as the strongest ninja ever produced by Konoha until his death. Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto were all still babies -- or at least toddlers -- when he was alive, if you recall), Orochimaru, the Third (in his prime), Raikage, possibly Hyuuga Hiashi (although if so, it won't matter, because Naruto will surpass him before we get involved with Konoha again), and... that's it. Not a very long list, is it? Yet all of the (living) people on that list are potentially Naruto's enemies, so he'd better be on par with them before they get into a fight, huh? And we know that Itachi is able to kill off the entire 'strongest ninja clan in Konoha' by himself, so that means Naruto should at LEAST be able to casually handle some two-bit clan head who's biting off more then he can chew and who has already been beaten on by Moegi and Hanabi, right? Actually, the battle was largely to show just how far the three genin (soon to be chuunin) have come, and how much more they have to go before they could be counted as 'elite.' Shows how the 'rookie nine plus three' aren't quite so exceptional, too.

And I recently saw a raw scan from manga chapter 282 which shows an image of Hinata in Part 2. Is it just my imagination, or does she actually look pregnant? There definitely seems to be a tiny bulge in the tummy area, though whether that's just from her clothes hanging funny, someone jogging the artists line when he was drawing the zipper of her jacket, or from something else (such as prenancy), I can't tell from that pic. As a major spoiler, though, because of that image, I'll let ya'll know something: Hinata will be pregnant at the start of Vol. 4. Try and forget that, though, since that's supposed to be a 'startling revelation' in the fic, but I wanted to get it out before her status is confirmed (or disproved) in the manga.

The healing technique used in this chapter will not show up again. (pause) At least, not until the sequel... (tum te tum tum) One thing about it, though -- it's not an especially effective healing technique. It uses all of Naruto and the kyuubi's chakra, and all it does is provide a small amount of concentrated accelleration of the healing process -- say, enough to scab over a wound. Moegi's still in critical condition, considering she has to travel, and now Naruto himself is incapacitated. This may or may not mean anything for our heroes in the next chapter, but I was trying hard to work it so tha this didn't become a 'deus ex machina healing technique' similar to how Chiyobaa just happened to be able to use her 'sacrifice my life to restore theirs' technique twice to revive both Sakura and Gaara. Also, the sharing of blood has some significance, although that, again, may not come up again until the sequel... (or possibly an epilogue. I've been tempted to make the epilogue two chapters, the first being the 'wrap up' of Training, and the second a sort of pre-prologue for the next-gen sequel. If I choose to do so, it might be mentioned again, then)

Next Chapter: Sakura's rescue mission that was supposed to take place in this chapter, plus a wrap-up of the whole Cloud mission.


	48. V3 Chapter 38

Volume 3

Notes: This is the last ever set of author's notes undermy old system of review replies. From now on (at least, as long as it's still operable), I'll be directly answering any questions I possibly can from FFNet in the 'review reply' feature. Please check the reviews from now on to make sure that your questions haven't already been asked and answered. I will still be making occasional 'story notes,' however, when such information doesn't appear to fit in a review reply.

Once again, someone asked me how much longer until Volume 4, in addition to the people begging for the lemons (NC-17 stuff) to start showing up. Well, this chapter wraps up this arc of the story. Latest estimates are as follows: The next arc is theacademy graduation arc, and should last a few chapters (three or four, minimum). Then what should be a one chapter (well, two max) NaruSaku romance (which will include the lemon for those reading from Mediaminer). Then, the long concluding arc, which should be three or four chapters, minimum. So, at minimum, six chapters... which is more than half as long as I initially intended this whole volume to be. How naive I was... although I think this estimate is much more likely to be accurate then that one was.

Please do not ask me to review your fiction for you. If you do, I will be forced to NOT review your fanfic, on general principle -- I typically only read what I want to read, and review what I want to review. If I review something after you've asked me to I'll be deluged by others asking me to review THEIR work. In order to prevent that from happening, I just cannot afford to ever review the work of someone who asks me to look at theirs -- at least, in these circles. Certain environs (such as the one or two peer review forums I belong to) it might be acceptable, but not in your own reviews of my fanfic.

There is, once again, Kakashi acting oddin this chapter. There IS a reason for this other then him just being such an ass -- and I'm going to have to ask you to bare with me until I get there.

Someone reviewed an earlier chapter, and may not get to read this note, but I figured I'd answer their complaint anyway. Namely, that (and I'm paraphrasing here) 'these characters are ninja, and should be used to death and killing. Any discussion and revulsion at such breaks my suspension of disbelief.' I'd like to remind them that Kishimoto himself has declared that his concept of ninja are NOT the same as the 'true' concept of ninja. He has his ninja care about death and killing, and worry about things like that -- the Wave Arc proves that with Haku's beliefs about killing, and Naruto's reaction. Therefore, I choose to portray my characters as human soldiers who may have never had to kill anyone despite years of training to do so, instead of as robots, and therefore capable feel pain at the need to kill and sympathy for those who experience death. Just as Kishimoto has done on a few occasions, himself.

Naruto passing out despite the 'near infinite' chakra thing is just to show how impractical his healing technique is. The other time he passed out was after fighting off an entire village full of ninja while he was (unknown to him) dealing with a dangerous health condition involving his chakra -- I think that's justified. He shouldn't be passing out from chakra exhaustion very often.

* * *

Chapter 38

"Sakura-chan," Ino said, standing next to the pink-haired girl, "Maybe whatever it was is over. You said yourself you know he's alive."

"Yes," Sakura admitted, nodding slightly as she leapt to another tree. "But he could still be a prisoner. I know for a fact that kyuubi is too drained of chakra to even be awake, right now -- whenever I'm in the catacombs, he's too tired to wake up no matter how much I bang on his cage."

Ino knew everything about Naruto, Sakura, and the kyuubi, of course, but the idea of 'banging on his cage' was a bit much for her. "He might just not like being treated that way, you know, or--"

"No," Sakura replied. "Trust me on this, he's out. I'm... well, I never thought I would be, but I'm even worried for the 'towering demon which slaughtered half of Konoha seventeen years ago,' if you must know. Kyuubi is a force of nature, and so is Naruto -- usually -- but if something was powerful enough to knock him out..."

"God only knows what it would do to Naruto. Or the genin," Ino added. "Still... even if he has been captured and does need a rescue, what do you expect _this_ lot to do?"

Ino was not putting their companions down -- rather, she was just being realistic. Cloud was reputedly the third most powerful military force in existence, and Blossom... was not. Furthermore, most of Blossom wasn't with them -- rather, it was a hodge-podge collection of volunteers who decided to go on the rescue mission after Kakashi had refused to send out an official rescue party. It wasn't, he had said, that he didn't want to rescue Naruto if he was in trouble, but rather that he figured he didn't have the resources to help if there was something that Naruto couldn't face down, himself. There was a bit of logic to that, Ino supposed, but it still seemed fairly cold-blooded of him. Then again, many experienced ninja, even in Konoha, had the reputation of putting logic before emotion... and it wouldn't be surprising if Kakashi was one such person, as well. Sakura and Naruto both thought he'd been acting odd for a while, admittedly, but Ino didn't know him well enough to make that judgement.

However, the team they had finally managed to assemble sort of bore out Kakashi's reasoning. Ino, of course, came along the moment Sakura explained it to her, and she didn't think she was exactly a slouch when it came to being a ninja -- not any more, anyway -- but as far as everyone else, well, there weren't very many others with experience. Konohamaru had tried to join them, but Sakura had refused to allow him, instead sending him to the hospital until his health recovered. Haruno-san had been explicitly ordered to stay behind and continue the training of those students who were still available. Jiraiya had been out of town, on one of his spy missions. Genma and his team were on a mission. Even Anko was unavailable, as she had apparently been asked to work with Jiraiya for his recent assignment. They weren't completely alone, however -- Hana had been willing to accompany them, and looked a bit anxious... for understandable reasons. Udon and Daichi were there, although niether of them were powerhouses, exactly. Even some of the Academy students had been willing to come along -- Inari, Adaha, and Ran Umiko were at their side, having been there when they flare of kyuubi's power shocked Sakura into action, despite several attempts by both Hana and herself to convince them to leave. Sakura had finally taken charge, saying that they could come but only if they followed orders -- orders which would likely keep them out of any serious combat.

Their final companion was very much a surprise, but was allowed to join them on the same conditions as the Academy students. Kireme Sakura, the prostitute, had actually been taking lessons in ninjitsu since her arrival. She would never even rate high enough to be considered for administrative genin duty, but she did hope to meet the qualifications that a lot of Konoha's citizens met even if they didn't attend Academy, and that was of the 'Auxiliaries.' Ninja Auxiliaries never took on the duties of a ninja except in time of war, and even then their positions were generally along the lines of behind-the-front-line medical staff, behind-the-line supply convoy duty, behind-the-line cooks, and any number of other behind-the-lines duties a large army could not do without, but which didn't usually require combat skills. Teuchi and Ayame from the Ichiraku Ramen stand, back in Konoha, qualified as good examples -- they hadn't ever used a single one of their ninja skills since learning them (outside of routine practice, Ino assumed), but they had enough ninjitsu in them that they would be allowed to cook for Konoha's forces in wartime.

If Kireme ever officially qualified as an Auxiliary, she could be allowed to leave for Konoha and learn what she needed in order to teach proper 'courtesan skills for ninja' on her own. As it was, Sakura and Hana would both have to work with her in order to present all the information, and even then it was a bit... iffy that her classes would 'count' when the kunoichi of Blossom returned to Konoha. What she thought a member of the Ninja Auxiliary-in-training could accomplish on a mission like this, however, was a bit... uncertain. Nonetheless, she was travelling with them, and the saying always was 'beggers can't be choosers.' Ino wondered if she would wind up being more trouble then she was worth, however -- as she was relatively untrained, there was a good chance that she would draw people away from more important roles in order to protect her. Then again... there was no way Sakura -- or anyone, for that matter -- would take this motley crew into any sort of battle, was there? And nine people, no matter how good they were, wouldn't be much of a threat to the cloud. No, whatever it was Kireme had told Sakura to allow her to come along, it probably had nothing to do with any combat situations. And, much to Ino's surprise, Kireme was keeping up. Apparently, whatever she was learning from those books on beginners ninjitsu was enough to allow her to travel with larger groups of ninja (which, as any formation did, always moved slower then smaller groups). Ino decided to check out those books, herself, later -- if they could teach a prostitute to be a ninja in only a couple months, maybe there was something in there she could apply to her own classes with the Academy students.

Sakura suddenly stopped, looking around the area. "We'll camp here for dinner," she ordered, setting her pack down. "And then six hours rest. Kireme-san?"

Sakura had partnered with her older namesake each time they camped. Ino had been partnered with Hana -- which wasn't exactly pleasant, thanks to the dog-like smell which perfumed their tent. However, she had accepted it -- for some reason, Ino suspected that there was a reason Kireme had been brought along, and obviously Sakura was talking it over with her whenever they were camped. The others also got to work on their own tents, the campfire, and the food. Hana started grooming her dogs -- as much as they were travelling, they needed care in order to keep running at top speed -- while Ino got to work setting up their tent. It seemed like just any other stop, although it had come about rather suddenly. Ino realized why, suddenly -- this was their last chance for a warm meal. Much closer, and they would have to start hiding their presence when they camped. It was only a day or two from the borders of Cloud Village, after all, and routine patrols would be able to spot things like tents and campfires much closer in. How Sakura had realized this before Ino had, however, was something of a mystery.

Sakura came by shortly after Ino was done setting things up. "Ino-chan, come with me. I've got an assignment for you."

"An assignment?" Ino asked, surprised.

Without saying anything, Sakura lead her to the tent she and Kireme were sharing. "Kireme-chan is going to be scouting out the town before us. She has a perfect cover, but she'll be asked questions the moment she enters town. I want you to prep her by asking those questions and providing scenarios. Her contact in the town will be one of Hana-chan's dogs, so you'll have to see if she can make up believable excuses for talking to strays. I've got to go get the Academy students prepped for their assignment, as well, so I've got to hand this one over to you. You've got twenty minutes."

"Uh," Ino began, but the pink-haired girl was gone before she could ask any questions. Shrugging, she entered the tent, where Kireme seemed to be laying out some grooming supplies. "Sakura sent me in to drill you on some things?"

"Yes," Kireme replied. "I'm going to be infiltrating Cloud using my... profession, as an excuse, and I need you to help me prepare for whatever questions or circumstances I may encounter, so that I'll know how best to deal with them."

"You're going to _what?_" Ino asked incredulously. "You're completely untrained! How the hell do you expect to get into Cloud in the first place? And just how the hell do you think you'll be able to figure anything out if you do?"

Kireme smiled softly. "Cloud is hosting a chuunin exam. Every time one of the major chuunin exams are held, calls are placed to the public for as many prostitutes as possible to come to town by the local brothels -- all save for Konoha, so perhaps you haven't experienced the situation. But in Sand, Rock, Cloud, Mist, and several of the smaller villages when the exam comes to town, calls are made for prostitutes to serve as the same messages as the call for nearby ninja villages to send their genin for the exam are sent. It takes months to fill the brothels with enough girls to satisfy the demands of the international audience for the final part of your exams, and we make good money for showing up. I am able to go because I am a whore, and I know more about being a whore then the kunoichi with the greatest understanding of 'courtesan service' will ever manage to learn. Getting _in_ will not be a problem. It's how to handle things once I'm inside I need your help with."

Ino blinked. "I... well, what do you plan to do when you get inside?"

"Look for the brothels, like a good whore would," Kireme laughed. "Which is just what Jiraiya-sama would do, like any good pervert with his reputation. Of course, the fact that he is _very_ good at getting information out of whores -- and, believe me, no-one knows more about what's going on in a town then the residents of a brothel -- helped him get known as a master spy with a 'massive' network of informants. I suppose the gossip shared between prostitutes like myself qualifies as a 'massive network,' but really, we're probably almost the only source he has."

Ino frowned. "Why would you be going to several different brothels? A ninja would wonder about that."

"Easy enough explanation. I'm shopping my services, after all, but the brothels are my best potential employers. They offer the steadiest income for a whore, and a solid, regulated structure which is generally better then what you'd find offered to you from a pimp or by freelancing. However, not all brothels are the same -- some specialize in certain things, some offer services which others done, and some try to offer a little bit of everything. Me? I've specialized in 'first times' for a couple brothels -- I'm very good at setting the nervous at ease -- so I'd probably go looking for the brothel which offers the best opportunity for someone in that position. I'm also a skilled masseuse, and can handle a few other less-common 'kinks' certain clients have. A specialty brothel wouldn't be my kind of thing, either. So, shopping my 'talents' to the local brothels is definitely a good excuse."

"I... I guess so," Ino said, feeling out of her element. "But you're going in as a spy, to gather information. What would happen if someone tried to, uh, _hire_ you?"

"I'd accept, of course," Kireme laughed. "Not at a brothel -- I'd tell them I wanted to 'check out the other brothels first,' as most newly arrived whores do during the chuunin exam -- but if someone approached me on the street, I'd do my job and be glad for the money."

"But... you're on assignment," Ino pointed out. "There's a time pressure involved..."

"That's a problem," Kireme agreed. "I'd need an excuse if I was busy, but fortunately I have one that will usually work at least once. All whores find excuses for 'problem clients,' after all, but there's one every whore has whose ever been employed by the brothel I work at..."

"Oh?" Ino asked, intrigued in spite of herself. "What excuse is that?"

"Lunch," Kireme laughed. "Our madame once told us a story about a whore who was a co-worker of hers when she worked in a brothel about twenty years ago. She'd skipped lunch, and was trying to fulfill a client's request for... oral satisfaction, I suppose you could call it. Well, she was rather bored, having done that sort of work for quite a few years by then, and got to daydreaming. I could go on, but the details got a little bloody -- let's just say the poor guy was never able to be a client to my sort of business ever again. He was missing the limb required for it."

Ino winced at the image. "Ouch."

"So, our madame always gives us the same instruction: Never, _ever_ take on a client when you're hungry. She isn't the first madame to give these instructions to her staff, and she won't be the last, but she made her case better then any I've ever heard about," Kireme laughed. "There aren't many clients who will be willing to sit through a whore eating a meal before taking on her services -- not when there are other whores in town who might be able to satisfy their needs faster."

"Sounds to me like you've got all of your excuses in the bag, already," Ino pointed out. "So just what do you need me for?"

"Well... I still need to worry about communication. Once I find out where they are, how do I find and talk to Hana-chan's dog without looking... wierd? Not many sane people go around talking to stray dogs, after all," Kireme explained. "Also, how would they get in touch with me if they found me first? And how would I reply without giving everything away? That's the sort of thing I really need help with."

Ino grimmaced. "Well, yes, those are definitely serious issues. Normally, I'd want a month to figure out what--"

Sakura came into the tent suddenly, a pensive expression on her face. "Cancel this assignment. I'm afraid we won't need your help to find them, after all, Kireme-chan."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"_They_ found _us._"

* * *

Hanabi and Futaba were all in terrible shape. Sticks, twigs, mud, thorns, and worse were stuck to their clothing and thier skin. Scratches and bruises showed everywhere not exposed by their clothing, and they were quite obviously exhausted. They, however, were doing pretty well compared to the other two they had managed to drag with them. Moegi was slipping in and out of consciousness, the obvious victim of a concussion, and the amount of blood on her clothes couldn't possibly be attributed just to the few bumps and scrapes visible on her. She also seemed to be having trouble breathing, which was also a major concern. Naruto... well, he seemed intact, but he was unconscious, and apparently had beeen for a couple days if Sakura's suspicions were correct. Complete mana drain -- again -- though from what she could tell it hadn't damaged the seal this time. Not that it really had the previous time, but Sakura had been concerned that the cause of the seal's damage had been... misdiagnosed.

So, they were alive, but that was all Sakura -- or anyone else, for that matter -- knew so far. "What happened?" she finally asked, now that she was reassured that the camp was secured. It had been agonizing waiting that long to turn their attention to the people they had been coming to rescue, but when the first words out of Hanabi's mouth were 'we're being chased,' Sakura felt obligated to make sure their encampment could withstand a simple attack before asking any questions... or treating any wounds. And, as much as she'd like to deal with Naruto at the moment, she knew that all three of the others were in much worse need.

As she started healing Moegi, Hanabi asked, "Who's in charge? Hana?"

"Me," Sakura snapped back. "Now answer the question."

"Sorry, but we have a prisoner. Futaba-chan?"

Futaba let out a dog-like howl, which was answered a moment later by another dog's call. Kuromaru showed up a moment later, dragging a bound -- and drugged unconscious -- man in his grip. The dog dropped him in front of Sakura carelessly. "I thought we should kill him," the old dog snarled. "But he's more valuable as a hostage. Proof of a crime, or something like that."

"Who--"

"Sinobi Gashir," Hana said softly, glaring down at the man. "Long thought to be dead, although we Inuzuka clan members were always suspicious of that. We never detected his scent at the crime scene. I remember seeing him during the diplomatic event he was supposedly killed at, and I caught his real scent then. Even though I was just a kid, there's no doubt in my mind that this is that same man."

"He's responsible for my Uncle being forced to commit suicide," Hanabi spat. "I think he should answer for those crimes. And for trying to kill me a few days ago. He's... insane."

Sakura muttered something under her breath about complications before shaking her head. "No time to worry about that, now. You said you were being followed?"

"We thought we managed to make a clean escape by tunneling through a collapsed wall, but Kuromaru smelled a small army of about fourty or fifty ninja following us a few hours after we left. We've done what we can to slow them down, but they're still coming. How far away are they, now?"

"At the rate they're going, the first wave will hit us in about an hour. They're organized into three groups, however, and the two larger ones won't be here for another half hour," he replied.

Sakura nodded slowly. "We could run, but I suspect they'd catch us before we got back to Blossom. I'm going to want a full report at some point, but we've got better things to do -- since they're going to meet us, anyway, I think we'd better spend out time fortifying our position. Hana-chan..."

"I know, early warning. I'll post the dogs."

"Good. Ino, take Kireme into one of the tents and keep her safe. If we survive this, I don't want anyone to see her -- we might want to send her into Cloud one day, anyway, and it wouldn't be a good idea if she could be recognized."

Ino winced. "I'm probably one of the better fighters here, and you're putting me out of the action?"

"I'm hoping there won't _be_ any action, beyond repelling any sort of surprise attack they might launch," Sakura sighed. "While fifty men is a large number of attackers, I'm not sure if they're willing to risk an all-out war because... well, whatever it is they're coming after our genin over. If they tried to take out an encampment this large, it'd be hard for Blossom -- or Konoha -- to ignore it. They just _might_ be willing to negotiate."

"Possibly," Hanabi said, "Although I think that this is a rogue operation on their part -- Gashir's crazy, and I think he tried to do this whole thing on his own. He's an important figure, however, so I think his supporters could muster those fifty ninja coming at us right now... and that they'd be willing to slaughter us just to get him back."

Sakura sighed. "Well, we'll fight him if it comes down to it. And Moegi will be fighting at your side -- I've fixed the concussion and the cracked ribs. A soldier pill should be enough to get her in fighting trim."

"We're out," Futaba explained. "We used them up fighting and escaping. And running for almost two days straight."

Sakura sighed, taking out three of the grey medicines. "We didn't exactly stock up on these, as Blossom doesn't exactly have that many in storage at the moment, so this is all we can spare for the three of you. Each of you take one... and pray that it's enough."

Hanabi looked at the pill distastefully, but took it anyway. Moegi seemed rather greatful for it, despite the fact that -- as any Akimichi clan member knew -- it was the most bitter 'food' in existance. Futaba, however, considered hers carefully. "We need Naruto-sensei awake. Any chance that this would work for that?"

Sakura flinched. "I... don't know. He's not awake, though, so he can't swallow it anyway."

"Would kyuubi be rejuvenated?" she asked suddenly. The lack of reaction by anyone present to the open mention of the dreaded demon just showed how the 'secret' was being spread, but Sakura didn't notice. She was too busy trying to answer the question.

"He... he might. But that doesn't help if Naruto can't take the pill."

Futaba flicked the pill back to Sakura and pointed to the still visible seal on her abdomen. "You take it, then -- once kyuubi's revived, I'm sure Naruto will be, too."

Sakura's eyes widened, as this concept suddenly entered her. She, too, had a part of kyuubi inside her, now, and so it just might work after all. If there was one thing Sakura was doing if -- or rather, when -- they got out of this mess, it was to sit down with Naruto and figure out all of what they could do together, now that they both had kyuubi inside them. Right now, though, she had to go about making sure they _did_ get out of it. She swallowed the pill, and waited for something to happen.

Hanabi, curious, had activated her byakugan with the minimal amount of chakra, just to observe what happened. What she saw was rather remarkable: Twin flames of red chakra, mirroring each other along a spiral path throughout both Sakura and Naruto's systems. It was the oddest thing she'd ever seen... but she was glad it worked. Naruto was being revived -- slower then she thought anyone intended, but it was working -- and... and...

That was odd. It seemed as if there was a tiny bit of red flicker in Moegi's chakra, as well. Not nearly as strong as either of the chuunin pair, nor really in any distinguishible pattern... just, a flicker of red here and there dancing with the blue flares that the soldier pill had given to her natural energy. A bit of information to file away for later, she supposed -- for all she knew, it was just more of whatever Naruto did to heal the girl in action.

Naruto's eyes finally opened... and they were quite red. His bared his teeth, revealing growing fangs, and rolled onto all fours. Sakura, curiously, started matching him -- her eyes turned red, as well, and teeth grew in her mouth as well. They started staring at each other with wild expressions on their faces. Claws formed on both of their hands, and they leapt at each other.

At first, Hanabi thought that -- for some bizarre reason -- they were attacking each other. It soon became quite apparent that they weren't. While the claws both had grown were, indeed, slashing through their flesh, that flesh was healing the instant it tore... but the clothing that appeared to be the actual target of those attacks was not. They were... almost eating each other's mouths, it looked like, before they drew back and started biting each other... elsewhere. In a very bizarre way, they seemed like two wild animals in heat, trying to rut... Oh.

"Um, guys?" she said gently, but firmly. "Uh, Cloud army coming by in less than an hour, and there are impressionable minds present. Any chance you could hold off on your mating dance for a bit?"

Sakura blinked, the humanity returning to her eyes, and pulled away. Naruto snarled, and she almost went back to him, but then she shook her head. "Not now," she hissed at him.

"You're ready!" he growled back. "I can smell it on you, mate!"

Sakura blushed. "Doesn't matter if I'm ready or not... kyuubi. Now is not the time."

Naruto shook his head, his hair flipping around him. "Instincts are hard to fight when the brat isn't conscious. That smell..."

"Well, then, wake him up!" Sakura demanded.

"I cannot," He shook his head. "He needs another day to heal. The brat is weak. That is why I haven't recovered on my own, sooner. He's not even strong enough to manage his own chakra, now, much less my own."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Well, then, you'd better be able to control your instincts, hadn't you? Because, fox, _I _am the one in charge, here -- which means you will have to obey _me_ if you don't obey him."

Naruto's nostril's flared. "Mate... we love it when you take control. We'll obey... for now. But we love when we're in control, too, so don't expect this to work all the time."

Futaba snorted, trying to stop herself from laughing. "Color me scarred for life," she said. "Okay, so, what are we supposed to do, now?"

Flushing as she remembered her audience, Sakura cleared her throat. "Right. Well, let's get ready for a fight, shall we?"

* * *

Naruto was pacing circles around the campfire, still looking rather feral with his fangs and claws exposed. Sometimes, he walked on two legs, sometimes on four, but he continued pacing. His chakra had regenerated faster then he'd expended it -- and he'd been expending it plenty since his awakening -- but only as kyuubi. The human part of him was still unconscious, and would be for some time. Sakura quickly realized she was a bit of a distraction for him in this form, and set herself up as far from his sight as she could... but he was still feeling the rush of their earlier activities. So, when he sensed an intruder approaching (through enhanced smell and hearing, courtesy once again of the kyuubi), he was not happy.

"Grr," he growled, much like a dog would. Kuromaru, returning from having checked his fellow dogs' patrols, was rather impressed with it -- he was able to annunciate doggish better then most of the Inuzuka could, even. Of course, the fact that he was partially transformed into a beast thanks to the dominant presence of the kyuubi might have had something to do with it, but then again the Inuzuka could use several ninjitsu to make themselves more dog-like as well.

"Calm yourself, beast," the dog huffed. "Your instincts for battle can make you powerful, but they can also make you careless... and considering what we're up against, careless probably isn't a good idea."

"I've been fighting wars for hundreds of years longer then you've been alive, puppy," Naruto growled. "I'll be fine."

"No, you won't -- not as angry as you already are. You're forgetting the side effects of those pills -- they make you enflamed, out of control... feral. Why else do you think you can't calm your passion for your mate?" the dog pointed out.

"Because I can smell her readiness!" the kyuubi snapped back.

"No, you silly fox-cub!" Kuromaru chortled. "Because both of your passions were enflamed when she took that pill! Even if she had wanted to rut with you before taking that pill, the heat of an upcoming battle should have overwhelmed that sense. Tell me, would you even have _noticed_ her with the chance of battle around, if it weren't for that pill?"

"I _always_ notice her," the kitsune pointed out.

"_Naruto _always notices her."

"And I _am_ Naruto. Or had you forgotten?"

Kuromaru paused. "I am still talking to the demon, right?"

"Of course!" Naruto growled. "The brat won't be awake for some time."

"The brat is Naruto. You--"

"I am also Naruto," he snorted. "We both live in the same body, share the same mind. The brat is my jailor, yes, and usually in control of our actions and thoughts, but that doesn't prevent me from being a part of 'Naruto,' as well. We are usually the brat and the fox, both -- the brat being dominant, and me being... of little influence. But I do have some influence -- he would undoubtedly not have become quite the trickster he did if it weren't for me. Actually, I admire the brat -- he is what I would aspire to be, if I were human. And his own people have become my own. But he cannot claim to be Naruto any more that I can. And so if he can claim to be us... so can I."

Kuromaru hesitated. "Still, you are a fox demon. Surely a pink-haired girl isn't what your instincts crave, is it?"

"Lesser kitsune demons are known to stalk humans to rut with. Why then could I, much stronger then common kitsune, not choose one as a mate?" the kyuubi asked after a short pause. "Truthfully, I don't know if I would have even noticed her -- or any other female of any species, were I not trapped in this infernal human body, but... since I have, she has become my mate as much as she has become the brat's. I no longer even know which of us chose her first -- although I think it was both at once! And so, my instincts are as in tune with her as they should be to any creature I considered my mate."

"You still need to be careful," Kuromaru warned. "Demon or not, you are weaker then usual, only having half of your demonic strength thanks to the sharing of your spirit and the exhaustion of the human. And that energy, thanks to those pills, is tainted with wildness, as I said before... you are looking rather feral, I must say."

"Feral? I've always been wild, you idiot! Never been tamed!" the kyuubi ranted. "I haven't been domesticated despite being trapped in this pink-skinned creature, so how would I become a feral--"

The bitter ramblings were cut short as other noises finally announced the attack they had been waiting for. Naruto turned and snarled at the source. It appeared to be more people then were expected -- not many, though. Just two more... but that was bad enough, considering the relative skill level of most of the force from Blossom. They descended onto the camp in a rapid assault, weapons drawn and ready for battle.

Two of them went down in less then a second -- or rather, two of them never really existed, as the traps they sprung revealed that they were clones and dispelled them. Naruto slammed into a third, knocking him across the camp and into another set of traps. Kuromaru took a sniff of the air, and called, "Only five real humans -- the rest are clones!" A howl came from the air, which the dog immediately interpreted. "The remaining five are attempting to circle around and attack from the other side. My brothers will try and delay them."

By that point, Naruto was unintelligible. He had his own clones out, each of them also fighting as a fox, and he was quickly sorting the real Cloud ninja out from their clones by dispersing them. The battle was short and bloody, but the kyuubi appeared in control of himself enough to stick to the plan. Kuromaru was grateful for that -- he didn't want to have to try and stop him from killing anybody. Their only hope was in negotiation, and live ninja were easier to talk to then dead ones.

"There's only one of them!" one of the Cloud ninja called out. "Where's the rest?"

"I think this one's bad enough, don't you?" one of his companions, who had just recieved a rather painful kick to the crotch, shot back.

"Not when the reinforcements arrive," commented a new arrival -- as he and the remaining four cloud ninja who had been circling the encampment entered the fray. "What the hell is going on?"

"You're losing," came yet another voice... this one belonging to Haruno Sakura as she landed in the middle of the action. The moment her feet touched the ground, the battle was over. Her voice was the signal to her team to go into action, and when it did it moved quickly. Nearly invisible wires ripped out of the ground to entangle themselves around the arms and legs of the attackers, dogs emerged from the underbrush to surround the enemy, and Sakura's appearance itself was the final act. The entire enemy force was pinned, trapped, or knocked out in less then a second... and Sakura was there with a grin on her face. Naruto had disappeared the instant she arrived, and was nowhere to be seen.

The apparent leader of the Cloud group glanced over at her and sighed. "Fine. You've got us. But there are others on the way, and I know you know that. How long do you think you can hold out?"

"Long enough to open negotiations," Sakura replied. "We hold Gashir as hostage, and now we hold you. Now, ninja are always prepared to die, so holding you all hostage might not matter too much, but it's enough to maybe give your 'friends' pause long enough to find out if we can live through this without starting a war between Cloud and ourselves."

"I'm afraid that you'll find that we're past that," the Cloud ninja replied. "The moment you found out Gashir was alive, you all had to be killed. I'm afraid we have no choice."

Sakura smirked at him. "Really? Even if the fourty remaining ninja pursuing us fall?"

"Not likely!" he scoffed.

"Naruto! Come on out!" she called. Before she'd even finished speaking, there he was. "Sir, allow me to present Uzumaki Naruto. The boy who singlehandedly wiped out the Grass occupation force of Rainbow village. Naruto, the leader of the cloud assault force attacking up thinks there's not much chance of us beating his fourty ninja. What do you have to say to that?"

"I took care of them before these bastards got here," he growled harshly, but casually. "They're in the stockade you had built, as ordered. The puppy girl is keeping an eye on them."

Sakura grinned. Still a little charged, herself, she reached over and rubbed a spot behind his neck, in what felt like a cross between giving the boy a brief neck massage and giving the fox a scratch behind his ears. On anyone else, she would have felt strange doing it, but on Naruto -- at least, while he was this feral -- it felt right. "Good boy. Remind me to give you a _reward_ for that one."

That brought the Cloud ninja up short. "Well... you might be able to catch us all, but now what? You're stuck here while you keep us prisoner. We will resist being moved, and you should know that means you will have to kill us to move us. And that would start a war, which I gather you wish to avoid."

"Which is the only reason I feel like negotiating," Sakura pointed out, turning her attention away from Naruto reluctantly. "And when we negotiate, I'm going to need something a bit stronger then your word to keep you in line. After all, the very existence of Gashir proves that oaths taken by the cloud are meaningless, unlike those taken by citizens of Konoha -- which, in most cases, are considered as law."

"I don't know what you think you can get us to do, then," the ninja said. "If you won't take our word for anything, what kind of negotiations can we have?"

"Well, _we_ are the ones holding all the cards here," Sakura pointed out. "And all we want is to go home, unmolested and without starting a war. You... have already failed your mission. So, I'm going to give you two choices. The first choice is -- well, we'll have to kill you all, and destroy any evidence that we were ever here. From what I can tell, your operation against us is rogue, and so it's highly unlikely that your people would acknowledge that you were after us in the first place -- as long as there was no evidence that we were the ones who killed you, there would be no way for them to blame your deaths on us, and therefore no cause for war."

The Cloud ninja winced. "I... see. And our second option?"

"Simple enough. You trust us to send your village the means to deactivate the lethal amount of explosives we'll be placing on you and all of your companions," Sakura replied, grinning. Ino showed up moments later, specially prepared explosive tags in hand. "You either die, and fail your mission, or live, and fail your mission. Either way, war is prevented and my companions and I will survive. So, which is it?"

"Please," Naruto growled, bearing fangs and claws. "Choose death. I beg you."

The Cloud nin were almost too eager to accept their explosive tags after that.

* * *

A loud explosion announced yet another failure to remove an explosive tag, and yet another dead Cloud ninja. The team leader, Yobutsu Ogata, sighed. "All right, that's it. I tried to tell you all that you should only attempt to remove those at your own risk, but apparently no-one here seems to understand just how stupid it is to kill yourselves unnecessarily so I'm now making it an order. Everyone is to just accept the fact that we'll have to wear these explosive seals until that kunoichi from Blossom sends us the removal instructions. To make sure you follow these instructions, I'll kill anyone who tries -- even if you succeed. Clear?"

"Yes, sir," came a disheartened chorus of acknowledgement.

With a sigh, Ogata stood up and marched off to get some privacy. He hated being in command of such incompetents, but these people were all he had to work with... at the moment. Gashir hadn't exactly left him with the cream of the crop, but he could manage. Getting away from them all, and outside of camp, was a nice luxury he could afford as their commander. However, being alone did have its drawbacks, as he realized the moment he sensed the intruder. After a few moments, he sighed.

"You're late."

"I know," the intruder said, jumping to the ground in front of him. "But it seems things went as we planned."

"Hardly! I'm losing people because they're too incompetent to know when to quite! If you had shown up when we'd agreed, there would have been no need to undergo all this farce."

"Sorry about that, but I think it's for the best. If Naruto and Sakura had discovered me, it would have been... disastrous."

Ogata shuddered. "That Naruto kid... scary. I'd be afraid for my life, too."

"For my life? Hardly," the intruder snorted. "I don't think he's ever killed anyone in his life. Beaten them to a bloody pulp, yeah, but killed? No."

"Well, those fangs and claws certainly looked lethal enough to me," Yobutsu replied. "And those red eyes..."

"Fangs and claws? Red eyes? How... odd. I've seen him do that, before, but usually only when he was really angry. Did you do anything to anger him?"

"No. But he and the girl seemed... oddly connected. She had red eyes, too, though no claws or fangs."

"_Sakura_ had red eyes, huh? Hm... peculiar. I wonder how that happened... well, irrelevant. So, it seems there's little I can do, now. Sakura and Naruto have succeeded in our mission for me, huh? Gashir has now been removed, and you are clear to assume power."

"Yes, but I wish that Naruto brat hadn't ever been given any power in Blossom," Ogata sighed. "Most of my funding had been coming from the money laundering scheme we'd worked out with the former Gatoh organizations, and once he stopped that my money has dried up."

"It couldn't have continued much longer," the intruder pointed out. "Blossom was just about out of money, anyway. What you manage to obtain should last you long enough."

"Hm. We'll see. When I do become Raikage, however, I'll remember your efforts to get me that money... Kakashi."

Grinning darkly under his mask, Kakashi nodded. "As we had agreed, Ogata."

* * *

Notes: More is going on then you think with Kakashi. I don't want another set of flames because Kakashi is talking to this Cloud guy in secret, okay? Please?

I would like to remind FFNet people that certain things, such as URLs, do not show up in reviews. I've had a number of reviews asking me to go 'here,' with no explanation of what 'here' is (or, in one recent case, a suggestion that I read some song lyrics which... just aren't there, nor include any sort of indication as to song title, artist, etc.) because people aren't quite so familiar with the current form of the ffnet review system. You CAN send me personal e-mail for such things and I will read it (or possibly use this new messaging system, although I have no idea if it allows urls yet). I just want some way of identifying the message as being related to this fic, such as 'Training fic' in the subject line or something like that. Thank you.

Anyone who thinks that Naruto and Sakura's charged up behavior, especially Sakura's line about giving Naruto a 'reward,' is an indicator that they're in a sexual relationship already, well, sorry, but... not quite. They are in what some might call the, forgive the pun, 'heavy petting' stage, however. Or at least, they are when they're as charged up as those pills make them. (I figured there had to be a weakness in them, or else they would be standard issue on all missions -- they aren't, or else Naruto would have known about them before the chuunin exam) They have explored a bit, but just a bit... just enough that Sakura might be comfortable giving a 'reward,' so long as it doesn't go all the way yet.

Some people tend to use 'feral' and 'wild' interchangably. They aren't... quite. Feral tends to refer more to domesticated animals which revert to being wild, rather then all wild creatures in general. (I used to think they meant the same, too, until I read a news article about 'feral parakeets' finding a home in parts of the US). That's why Naruto felt insulted when he was being referred to as 'feral.'

Has anyone else experienced the difficulties of trying to have a dog converse with a fox before? Niether of them can just 'say' anything, usually, so you tend to run out of verbs. At one point, I referred to a doggy laugh as 'chortled,' because, well, it's the only way I can think a dog capable of laughing. A human, at the same time, much have chuckled or giggled, instead. Ergh, I'm obsessing over certain details too much.

I was once asked why I never capitalized 'kyuubi' in this fic (except when I should because it was the first word of a sentence and so forth). Simple -- in my mind, the only name kyuubi has is 'Naruto.' He is a kitsuni, he is the kyuubi (or nine-tails), but those are just... species identifiers, similar to dog or parrot or beetle, not a title or anything like it... in my mind, anyway. I've always thought of Naruto being the kyuubi's name -- either because Naruto the boy was named after him once he was placed inside, or because he had no name until he was sealed inside -- and therefore fused with -- the boy named who had been named Naruto. In my mind, Naruto is the brat and the kyuubi both... which makes for some existential problems, especially as Sakura has a piece of him inside her, but solves some other problems. Such as what to call Naruto's body when the kyuubi is in full possession of his body -- he is still Naruto, it's just that the kyuubi is dominant for once. It's why he never calls boy-Naruto by his name, or anything like that. I won't capitalize kyuubi for that reason, just as I won't capitalize 'blonde-haired boy' or anything else that describes what Naruto is. And I hope that answers that question from so long ago. I didn't feel comfortable answering it until now because then I know people would have wondered how that made anything different... well, finally I can. Kyuubi took full control of Naruto for a bit and had dialogue that required I use 'his' name. I also realize I had 'Naruto' conversing with kyuubi from time to time in the story. I think of it sort of as having (Haruno) Sakura talking with Haruno-san (her mother) and Kireme Sakura (the prostitute who she shares a name with). Sakura is always referred to as 'Sakura' when talking to them, or about them, or anything of the sort. Similarly, 'Naruto' is a name shared between the brat and the kyuubi, but the brat is always 'Naruto,' even though they have the same name. (Uzumaki is, um, reserved for someone else coming up. And I think I've said enough, there).

For the record, I'll admit that not everything I've written for this story has been planned from the beginning -- after all, it's kinda hard for six pages of planning to turn into hundreds of pages (as it is now) without 'expanding' the story a bit. Several of the subplots came to me as I was writing, usually as some sort of 'gee, wouldn't it make sense if I did that' sort of situation. And I always sat down and developed them out to know why and how they would fit in the final outcome before continuing. For the first time, however, I didn't do that 'sit down and plan it out' thing for one such subplot. Namely, I'm not quite sure where I'm going with Moegi's red chakra, yet. We'll see where it goes, though, won't we? I might be able to figure something out as I write -- I usually do.

You MIGHT think Ino and Kireme's conversation is an unplanned occurance, too -- and you'd be right, since it wouldn't have gone into the fic had I felt that Sakura's story was going to fit into the last chapter -- but it's actually going to be good background for the Vol. 3 finale arc, where Ino and Kireme are working together. It'll be Kireme's final significant appearance, btw, until the sequel... unless, of course, she dies, in which case it will just be her final appearance. Considering this arc is one of the main reasons I built her character, I figure saying she plays a prominent role isn't too bad.

For the record, in all of this fic, there are seventeen characters who I have the ability to kill off in this fic without ruining an aspect of my intended sequel, but who could ALSO live through to it (although in at least once case I've already made my decision to kill them off). Kireme is one of them. As an example of some of the others (five selected randomly from the list -- one of which's fate has already been decided): Tenten, Chouji, Lee, Hyuuga Hiashi, and (as much as I rate her at the top of my 'if she were real, I'd try to marry her' list of Naruto kunoichi) Inuzuka Hana. I don't expect to kill all seventeen off -- in fact, I expect most of them to survive, and have nameless faces killed off for most of the non-central-to-the-storyline deaths that will occur -- but we'll see how the fic wants to write itself with regards to their fates. It could be a bit of a bloodbath, if it comes down to it.

This chapter was significantly delayed when I had a severe computer problem. A power out killed power to my computer longer then my 'uninterruptable' power supply was able to keep things running, and I wasn't home to take care of it at the time. When I came back, I found that the power out had corrupted the operating system to the point I had to reinstall it (despite trying for more than a day to use various methods of repair). That had me fearing that I'd lost this fic for a while (sorry, but I don't usually consider my fanfics important enough to make special back-up copies, and I only do a full backup every three months), but fortunately everything came through fine... except I have a lot of software installed on this machine that the registry doesn't acknowledge the existence of, so it's all essentially taking up space. Oh, and I lost my entire e-mail archive which included records of all my c&c not just for this fic, but every fic I'd ever written... and a mirror of the reviews I'd recieved from ffnet. Sigh. Also, this past weekend I was at an Anime convention (Anime USA... argh! They scheduled the fanfic panel across from the 'Move' concert that had the line that stretched across the entire hotel, so there wasn't anyone there), so that has cut into my writing time as well. BTW, for the first time, I started getting people wonder if I was EVER going to update this fic again (which is odd, as I've had longer breaks between chapters before without this complaint), so I guess my 'update once every day or so' reputation with this fic is finally gone. It gets worse, because I'm not even going to be able to look at this fic for at least the next two weeks plus (until December 10) thanks to work. Sorry.


	49. V3 Chapter 39

Volume 3

Notes: I made a slip-up last chapter, switching Genma's and Aoba's names in an early paragraph. I'll have to go back and fix that at some point, but yes, Genma is dead and it was Aoba's team that was on a mission.

The TONFA (The Original Naruto Fanfic Archive) Awards (open to all fanfics, those on TONFA and, more often, not) have opened voting, now through mid-February of 2006. Training is nominated in two categories -- Romance and Epic. Normally, I would call for you to go in and make fair review of each fic, and then vote for whichever you like best. Seeing, however, that the fic currently winning 'Romance' has (according to some voter's comments in the author's own livejournal) a number of people voting for it who have NEVER READ A NARUTO FIC IN THIER LIVES, I figure asking people to go there and vote their conscience will be futile -- after all, I don't have a livejournal community to compete with that! The fair-minded voters are going to be swallowed up by the 'popular' people in high school who use school computers to get all their classmates to vote for them without knowing what it is they're voting for. So, instead of asking you to be fair, I'm going to ask you straight out to vote for me -- I'm not saying that I know for a fact I have the best written fic in the contest (I've read only about five or six of them, after all, only one of which outside of my own actually appears in the Romance category, and there are over two hundred fics in the contest), but I feel confident that if you're voting after reading this review, you at least have read a Naruto fanfic at SOME point in your lives. If this is going to turn into little more then a popularity contest... well, I'll match this fic's popularity with any other. It might not win, but it should place! (For all categories outside of Romance, including the Epic category I'm also entered in, I think you should make more careful consideration of each entry. I haven't noticed any massive swings in those categories from people who don't read Naruto fanfiction, after all, and so they MIGHT not be just popularity contests)

I am not happy with the 'review replies' feature, since it doesn't allow for me to make public comment on some things. Also, it only works for signed reviews, so I can't answer all the questions I want to as I want to. Hurrah for another ffnet screwup! However, these are not 'review responses,' but rather announcements made because of the reviews. There IS a difference -- these are messages for everyone, after all, not for individuals, regardless of the fact that they may have been in reaction to reviews.

One point from a reviewer I want to cover right away: Naruto the boy and Naruto the kyuubi are different... people. They share the same body, however -- which means the same hormones, same senses, and same physical tastes (in women, at least), and they share the same name. Kyuubi is Naruto, yes, and so is the brat, yes, and they're one shared name, yes, but 'Naruto' as Ino understands him (meaning the brat) is not the kyuubi. Argh, I complicated things a bit, there, didn't I? Well, it'll come up again, although it's not exactly THAT important -- it was largely to show how kyuubi shared brat's feelings for Sakura, rather then having their shared feelings show they were the same person. It was also intended to help show why there might be added confusion by the people of Konoha as to why Naruto could be the kyuubi -- because they have the same name for one reason or another -- a few people who might not know Naruto of the village could be calling on Konoha to talk about Naruto the kyuubi of legend at some point, and could cause some confusion in that regards. The brat side of Naruto doesn't think he's the same, though, and niether does Ino, nor does anyone else who knows both Naruto the demon and Naruto the brat. Sakura definitely knows they're different beings (as she has part of him inside her), but also knows that the seal is truly controlled by Naruto, and therefore the demon couldn't do anything that Naruto doesn't want him to do, even when kyuubi is dominant... including, one would suppose, have sex with Sakura. So, her 'rutting' isn't exactly cheating on him.

To those who think that kyuubi is the demon fox's name (and a demon fox -- or really, just fox, but normal foxes and fox-demons share the same word in Japan, from what I can tell -- is a kitsune, so that isn't a name but a superspecies; I think of it as 'fox' is the species, 'demon' is the group, and 'nine-tails' is the breed, just as 'dog' is a species, 'terrier' is a group, and 'boston terrier' is a breed with dogs) in the manga... well, I suppose it's possible, but Shukaku (Gaara's demon) was called 'one-tail,' and kyuubi means 'nine tails,' and they weren't treating 'one-tail' as Shukaku's name, but rather as its description.

Let me make another thing clear: There will be a lemon scene. It will NOT be on ffnet, but it will be on mediaminer. I thought I was making that point clearly enough. These authors notes are intended for both the audiences on mediaminer and ffnet, so sometimes I will refer to things going on or intended for the mediaminer release here, even though there's nothing relevant to the ffnet release. So far, there have been no censored chapters (there are a few nitpicky differences, as I made a few corrections on the ffnet version through ffnet's document editor that I didn't on the mediaminer version, because I only noticed them only as I was putting in new line breaks, but that's it), but there will in the arc AFTER the one I'm starting in this chapter. Not likely in this one, however, as this one deals with the Academy students mostly.

* * *

Chapter 39

To say that things went smoothly upon the return to Blossom would be an understatement. Gashir was heavily secured, and escorted back to Konoha proper by the five jounin who had merely been standing by for the completion of the chuunin exams. Naruto's acting promotions had been rubber-stamped without complaint -- much to several people's shock, since it had been noticed more and more that a tension was building between him and his former teacher -- and so Moegi, Hanabi, and Futaba were all recieving pay as chuunin. They had yet to take a single chuunin-level mission, however... although apparently, Blossom was preparing to accept a limited number of very low-end B-rank missions now that they had the personnel to handle them.

Things were a bit tense between Naruto and Sakura, however, once the soldier pill had finally worn off. The libido of the kyuubi in check -- and no longer setting off their own hormones -- embarrasment set in. Sakura still wasn't ready for the physical advancement of their relationship they had almost succumbed to -- in full public view of several people they both knew quite well, mind -- while the pill was making their blood race. "At the very least," she'd pointed out, blushing, when Ino had asked for at least one good reason she was still holding out, "the only effective birth control techniques I'm willing to use require a full month to start working." That she wanted to have that sort of a physical relationship with him wasn't in doubt -- as certain activities they had participated in, both before and since, could attest to. However, it had been harder and harder restraining themselves... and Sakura, just in case something happened a bit earlier then she expected, had begun those birth control techniques. Once things were set, she would have complete control over her ability to get pregnant -- well, as much control as any kunoichi had, which was considerable... there were even techniques to be fertile with one person and infertile with another on the same day, once the initial set of techniques had been accomplished -- not that she ever intended to use that particular subset of the medical ninjitsu, although she suspected she would have to teach it if they didn't get in a professional courtesan trainer from Konoha before Blossom needed one. She couldn't force herself to get pregnant, though, and sometimes she would have to drop the pregnancy guard completely in order to refresh the techniques, but she'd be safe as long as she remembered to do that.

It was becoming... a bit of a strain, however, having to pull away when things were getting too hot. She had explained the need for time (in terms she hoped Naruto wouldn't embarrass her with, later), but that didn't keep them both from getting frustrated. Cold showers were becoming a common occurance in Naruto's apartment, and Sakura was spending more and more nights at her former room in Ino's place just to avoid temptation. It didn't help that there was nothing to do -- her work at the hospital was becoming even less demanding, and Naruto -- for some unknown reason -- was still essentially unemployed. Ino's own job was being downgraded as well, curiously -- she had been asked to start training one of the new chuunin to take over as liason to the Wave, and so she had been spending most of her time making sure Moegi learned the fine art of diplomacy.

So, it was a great relief when Hanabi delivered three letters, notifying the trio that there would be three seperate missions for them waiting for them in the office of the Jounin-Oyabun 'at their earliest convenience' late one night. Meaning, of course, at the crack of dawn. None of them even bothered to speculate as to what kind of mission they would be getting, although all three would have been able to figure it out if they'd even tried to think about it. They were brought in, together, and sat down... although Kakashi himself was, of course, late. Naruto casually mentioned a few pranks he could pull on the older man for being late, but it was clear his heart wasn't in it. He wanted the mission more then the distraction of a few pranks. Finally, however, he arrived.

"Ah, sorry I'm late," he said. "But I had to--"

"Help an old lady across the street, or find your way back on the path of life, or some other bullshit like that," Naruto interrupted impatiently. "We've heard the excuses a thousand times, Kakashi-sensei. We don't care any more -- at least not right now. We just want our missions!"

Kakashi flinched slightly, although it went undetected by the other ninja. His work with the Cloud should not have anything to do with his relationship with Naruto -- after all, any work as a ninja required that one keep secrets and take actions which might not be well recieved by ones' friends and family -- yet somehow things had gotten sour between them. He didn't like how things stood with his students, and this new attitude of Naruto's wouldn't exactly help in any sort of reconciliation. Still, giving out a mission like this wasn't exactly the best time to re-establish those damaged bonds, so perhaps he could hold off on that for a while and make better plans. It might not just be their estrangement after all -- the fact that niether Ino nor Sakura reprimanded Naruto for his rudeness only showed how impatient they were, as well, so perhaps they were just tired of sitting around. Well, that could be solved easily enough. "They aren't excuses, you know -- at least, not most of the time. But if all you care about is the mission, so be it. Starting today, all three of you are acting-jounin. The Academy graduation is tomorrow, and each of you will be recieving a team. You will be required to conduct their post-graduate exam -- their 'Bell test,' if you will, although in this case it won't be a bell test. Hanabi-chan, Moegi-chan, and Futaba-chan will all also have teams for this test, as well, although we will only be forming three combat teams in the end, and you three will be the captains for each team. Here are the details. If you have any questions, I'm right here."

He handed each of them an information packet, and they started pouring through the information. Unlike in Konoha, these teams were not set up in their final trios -- instead, each team was broken up according to 'likely ability,' for one final two-week training session in 'specializations.' There was a team of students who seemed to be proficient with doujutsu (including Adaha), two teams of students who had particular affinities for certain animals (one of lower chakra capacity for animal training, the other of higher capacity for summoning), a team of students who seemed skilled with elemental techniques, a team composed of exceptional taijutsu talents (including, among others, Inari), a group of exceptional academic students who might be suited for medical ninjitsu, and so on. Each instructor was to select one team to work with -- the goal being to help these new ninja develop a set of techniques which could be passed down, just as clan techniques were passed down in Konoha. Teams would then be made up so that no two people with the same specializations were paired with each other, utilizing only the best nine graduates -- the rest would be sent back to the academy, and would study to become administrative ninja. And once that process was completed, Blossom would have proven itself 'self-sufficient,' and could begin to use 'proper' team selection.

Sakura grimmaced, seeing what was available. Obviously, she was the only one in Blossom qualified to work with the medical ninjitsu students. She wasn't exactly happy about being pidgeonholed into the role, however -- she did like medical ninjitsu, but she didn't want to teach it beyond a few pointer tips. She wanted to be a real, front-line ninja, and teaching students medical ninjitsu wouldn't exactly let her go out into the world. It would take forever to accomplish, as well.

"I have an addendum," Kakashi said as they read. "As Anko-san is currently forbidden from taking a teaching roll, we only have six instructors but seven teams. I had to call in someone from Konoha to provide assistance for the time being -- I've been holding off on beginning this mission set until they arrived, and they were unable to leave until the team of jounin escorting the criminal Gashir returned. Tsunade-sama sent over the only person she had available -- Shizune-san. She will be handling the medical ninjitsu students, as that is the only team she is qualified to handle. However, all of you may pick from any of the other teams."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and grinned. Good -- she wouldn't be stuck doing that. Perhaps her former master was looking out for her, after all... though why she'd sent away her top assistant when Konoha was obviously in distress was a bit of a mystery, but she wouldn't question it. And perhaps she could get out of being the assistant instructor for courtesan training, as well...

"In that case," Sakura said, glancing through the list quickly -- taking in the jobs, not the names. None of these students were likely to be exceptional talents in anything at this point, save perhaps Adaha and Inari, and she knew she wasn't qualified for either the taijutsu or the doujutsu training, so it didn't matter who she taught. "I'll take over summoning. Naruto and I are the only ones really qualified for that one, after all."

"Hm," Kakashi mused. "None of your students will actually manage to summon anything, you know. Your job will be to help them set up their summoning contracts and to teach them the procedure, and that's it -- it usually takes several months before a genin is capable of summoning even the smallest of animals, and there isn't one person in the summoning group who has shown anything better then average stamina."

"That's okay," Sakura replied, grinning. "I don't think any of them will be signing contracts with the greater summonings, after all, so even if they won't be immediately ready for combat they will have something to build on for the future."

"Very well," Kakashi said.

"Not really much for me, is there?" Ino sighed. "I'm no taijutsu expert, and Hanabi-chan's the only one of us qualified to teach doujutsu. I'm terrible with elemental techniques. I've never signed a summoning contract, myself, so that'd be a bit beyond me, too -- no point in fighting with Sakura-chan over that. I don't know medical ninjitsu -- not that I would be able to teach it even if I could -- so that's definitely out. I don't work with animals, so that's out, too. I guess all that I've got is espionage techniques, huh?"

"Your assessments are quite accurate," Kakashi agreed. "I'd assumed you would take that assignment. I'm also assuming Futaba-chan will take the animal training assignment and Hanabi-chan would take the doujutsu assignment, so I'll pencil them in there. I assume you'll take on taijutsu, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned cheekily. "Nah, anyone can teach that. Give it to Moegi-chan. Me? I'll handle the elemental techniques."

Kakashi raised the one visible eyebrow. "What elemental techniques do you know? Moegi has mentioned knowing a few earth-based techniques, so I figured she might be the best to teach that one."

Naruto looked confused for a moment, and then grinned. "Oh, right, you don't know anything about my training, and you missed the tournament, didn't you? Well, I've learned a number of earth and water techniques -- especially mist-based water techniques. I know one or two wind techniques, too, though not very well, and a single fire element technique that's not really good for anything more then campfires."

"Hm, some day Jiraiya and I have to sit down and have a bit of a talk," Kakashi mused. "Very well, you may have elementals, and we'll break the rest of the teams up as we said. Study those notes and get to work planning your lessons -- you have to meet with your teams at noon, today."

* * *

Sakura groaned, looking at her list of students. She really should have checked before she made her pick -- there was no way she was going to enjoy teaching this team. Ran Umiko, despite a rather... odd rumor going around about her sexual orientation, was okay, she supposed -- she loved horses, and so it wouldn't be a surprise what animal she tried to contract with -- but the other two... well, to say she had problems with them would be an understatement.

One was Hiniku Butakatsu. It was fairly obvious which creature he would contract with, as well -- not only did he eat like a pig, look like a pig, and smell like a pig, he acted like a pig, as well -- one of the male chauvinist variety. Whenever Sakura was his teacher, he would goof off and ogle her and the other girls in the class. He showed her no respect, even when she demonstrated her chakra-enhanced strength and her growing skills with ninjitsu and genjutsu. He was constantly harrassing the other girls, and nearly got himself expelled from the Academy when he groped Seiteki Pansuki -- the only reason he wasn't was that she accepted his apology... but only after forcing him to pay her off for her 'services.' Pansuki, thanks to her rather cavalier attitude towards sex (and if anyone was bucking for early admission into courtesan training, it was her) and arrogant pride in her own beauty, was another of the Academy students Sakura had troubles with. Pansuki was often teasing Sakura -- and even Ino -- about looking sexier then either girl, despite still not having 'developed' herself, and that made Sakura want to hit the younger girl sometimes, but at least she wasn't on this team.

The third person on her team, however, was probably even worse then Pansuki would have been. Like a zombie raising its ugly head again, it seemed that Sakura couldn't get away from Komakai Chikan -- the only boy (still -- Naruto hadn't even seen the _real_ her, yet) who had ever seen her naked. And the only person in Blossom who could possibly rival even Jiraiya in how great a pervert he was (Kakashi and Ebisu, the two others that she and Naruto had identified as perverts, were a full step below Jiraiya. Chikan was, perhaps, only a fraction of a step off -- and he was the only person the newly established Blossom Brothel had thrown out of their establishment for being too much of a pervert... although his age did have something to do with it). This was not looking promising.

"You don't look happy, Sakura-chan," Ino said. All seven of the 'sensei' were present, going over their rosters before their first meetings with their teams. "Something wrong?"

"I'm okay -- I'll probably just wind up killing my own team before they learn anything," Sakura sighed. "I've got nothing but perverts. You?"

Ino shrugged. "I don't think I've got that problem. I've got an all-girl team, though -- Pansuki, Munamoto Sousou, and Ekisutora Bangai. Pansuki looks promising -- as arrogant as she is, she really does have the natural seduction ability... certain kinds of kunoichi can exploit for espionage purposes. Sousou-san's got good grades, but I don't know if she has any talent -- she's much too shy. And Bangai-san... well, I figure she'll be a prime candidate for administrative ninja -- she seems to have no talent at all, and was stuck in my team because no-one knew what else to do with her."

"I expect my whole team will become admin ninja," Shizune, who they had been reunited with only a few hours before, said. "Medical ninjitsu is very hard, and even if any of them possess a talent for it, there is no way they will be skilled enough to go on missions until they've spent at least a year learning techniques. Most medical ninja start their career as administrative ninja, after all -- it takes a lot of time to get any good at it, and that time can't be spent going on missions."

"Don't I know it," Sakura muttered. "It can be an effective combat skill, too, but it takes a while before it becomes effective. Not that my summoners will be ready when I'm done with them, but at least they can be expected to be useful sooner into their career then your average medi-nin, and going on missions helps speed their training instead of slowing it. As long as they seem to show some skill with the technique, I suspect all three of mine will be competent enough to assign to a team."

"Who's teaching Inari-kun?" Hanabi asked, curious.

"I am," Moegi replied. "Why?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure he'll make it," Hanabi said. "He taught me a thing or two, after all, and that's saying something. I was just wondering if there's likely to be anyone else to rival him in his class. I've got both his best friend, Adaha, and his biggest rival, Okanemoto Akane, on my team."

Moegi shrugged. "I've never heard of these other two on my team, so I don't know. Looking at their grades and skill assessments, I'm guessing Inari will be the only taijutsu expert to come from this class of genin, though."

"At least you've got someone who might make it," Futaba snorted in disgust. "I've watched a few of the Academy classes. The three people I'm supposed to teach are utterly useless. I don't even think they're qualified to be admin ninja... and I rather hesitate to make them responsible for animal training! Why did I get all the bad ones?"

"How about you, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked. "Who did you get?"

Naruto seemed rather stressed, rubbing his scalp as he read his own list. "I know elemental techniques, but how in the world am I supposed to train these guys?" he burst out, finally. "I've got Yowamushi Kasuka -- the only ninja any ninja academy class exclusively on his academic grades, since he's too much of a weakling to pass the physical tests. I've got Kainashi Rouhi, who I'm sure you remember, Sakura."

"Broke his leg while I was gone on a mission. It was too late for me to do much of anything other then rebreak it and set it when we got back. He completely lost all of his conditioning while he was in recovery, as I recall -- even some muscular atrophy, which seemed rather bizarre since he was only laid up for about two or three weeks," Sakura recited.

"And, finally, I've got Hiyowai Shiro," Naruto spat. "Who's so sickly he had the worst attendence record due to health in Blossom, or even recorded in Konoha's own records. In other words, I've got three people who are so sick and weak that they can't fight at all. How in the world am I going to teach them anything if they're too weak to go on a training mission, huh?"

Sakura winced. "Naruto-kun... you'll manage something. And if not, well, this isn't your final team, remember? You'll be a great jounin-sensei, I'm sure of it. We've finally set up all of the training grounds around Blossom, so you don't need to take these three far."

"But if I can't get any of them into a final team, will my promotion to jounin even stand?" Naruto asked plaintively. "How can I become hokage if my promotion to jounin depends on three people who couldn't do a push-up between them?"

"I'm sure you won't lose your promotion, Naruto-kun," Sakura said softly, patting his shoulder. "But if you're that worried about it... well, I've seen you do some thing I could swear were impossible, in the past, just because you made a promise. So promise me you'll get at least one of your students through, and I'll bet you that you will."

"A man doesn't take back his words," Naruto said slowly. "So I won't promise that, since I might have to if I do. But... I'll try. You think I only need to get one through, huh?"

"Don't neglect your other students just to concentrate on one, Naruto," Shizune cautioned. "It could really harm all three of them if you do. And if you pick the wrong one, and one of the others would have a talent for it with enough training, you might cause the very problem you're worried about."

"Nah, don't worry about that," Naruto replied. "I know what it feels like when your teacher decides he's going to spend all his time working with someone else -- especially when that someone else might be a certain rival of yours."

Sakura blinked. "You do?"

"Sasuke," came not from Naruto, but Ino. "Kakashi-sensei spent all his time in the run-up to the chuunin exam, our rookie year, teaching Sasuke and trying to pawn Naruto off to someone else. I think we all know why, _now,_ but it turned out to be a bad decision anyway, didn't it?"

"Kakashi-san is a very good man," Shizune shot back. "What happened with Sasuke-kun wasn't his fault."

"No, it wasn't," Naruto agreed. "Looking back on it, I now think he was right, actually, to do what he did. It doesn't stop me from knowing what that feeling's like, though... and I'll never have one of my students learn that lesson the hard way. _That _is a promise."

Sakura grinned at him. "Well, then... it's five minutes until noon. What do you all say we go meet our students, huh?"

* * *

Notes: I made a VERY minor change to a previous chapter for this one -- namely, I adjusted the class size of this first Academy class a bit. I messed up -- I only did the math for those people who I needed to have appear in various chapters, not the number of people I actually needed to account for. Oops.

This is really just an introduction to this next arc -- mostly filler and fluff, and it's short (compared to the last few chapters, anyway), but the next few should make up for that. The next several chapters can be written in just about any order, since they all are supposed to take place at the same time. I intend to do the training missions for Sakura, Hanabi, and Naruto (and possibly Ino, although nothing especially interesting is supposed to happen during her training -- her chapter would be all filler, if I write it, and the only purpose it would serve is bringing her back into the spotlight... which she's going to be in extensively through the final arc. I also considered a Moegi-centric chapter, but I can't even see a filler chapter with her team that would be at all interesting, and there's no reason to include her... although if I perhaps come up with a reason for her to appear that involves the kyuubi bits I snuck into her a couple chapters ago, maybe I will) over the next little bit, before I divide the students who pass (as you'll notice if you count the names of the genin mentioned, there are three who won't be passing at least) into their final teams. Then, the two-chapter NaruSaku romance arc (with lemony bits on Mediaminer), before we get to the Volume 3 Finale. Man, what a monster this fic has become...

Next chapter: Erm... (rolls dice) Hanabi teaches her students.


	50. V3 Chapter 40

Volume 3

Notes: This chapter is being posted earlier in the day (or perhaps later, depending on your time zone) because I've been fighting the flu for several days, now. This chapter had the finishing touches put on it last night, but I didn't feel up to waiting up until my usual very late night posting time to get it out. I still don't, but I think I've delayed long enough. Here you are, with the fiftieth chapter overall (just fourty for the volume), posted a bit early. I intend to resume the regular posting times with the next chapter, assuming I'm over the flu.

This fic IS available at Mediaminer. It is rated 'Y' there, however, so it doesn't show up in searches unless you double-check to make sure the search allows for fics of that rating. I've had a lot of people saying they couldn't find it, and I think that could be a big reason why not. At the moment, it is still virtually identical to this one (I believe the chances are a few author's notes changes I made in ffnet's editing screen and some corrected math in one chapter), but that won't be the case forever.

If you've already voted, you till have to read this: The TONFA awards are still around until the middle of February. Be careful, however -- they've already discovered multiple attempts at cheating and rigging the polls, and the punishments have varied from expulsion of the voters to removal from the voting. Polling has been reset in both categories my fic is up in (as well as several others), so if you voted you need to vote again, and in order to vote you MUST friend yourself with the livejournal community (which can take a few hours to a day, since membership needs to be approved). For the record, if I'm nominated for this award ever again, I think I'll turn it down. Unless someone can prove it's being run significantly better next year, this award ain't worth it -- this much cheating already, and the award still has months of voting to go.

In case it wasn't clear, Hanabi, Moegi, and Futaba are NOT being immediately promoted to jounin. They're still chuunin, being given their first commands -- namely, they're being given command of a training assignment for new genin. Naruto, Sakura, and Ino, however, ARE being promoted. In my view, chuunin must also occasionally command genin teams, or else their rank would not be regarded as a 'command' position -- there would never be anyone who they could command.

To cut down on the length of some of these author's notes, I'm thinking of setting up a 'Training For the Job Forum' with the new forum feature. Let me know what you all think.

To the mediaminer readers: Sorry, I've tried everything I could think of to correct the formatting issues, including those dealing with the author's notes. Nothing I try seems to work. You'll just have to put up with it, or read it over on ffnet (which is still mostly identical to the mediaminer version, although there will be some censored chapters soon -- five chapters, give or take one or two -- which will only be available on mediaminer).

* * *

Chapter 40

Hanabi arrived to her meeting site fifteen minutes early, and was pleased to see that she had managed to beat her students to the training ground they were supposed to meet at. She quickly concealed herself, and settled down to wait. As soon as the trio of new genin arrived, she would be activating her byakugan. It would be very interesting to see just how they acted when they didn't know they were being watched, and to see if they would try using whatever talent it was that lead Haruno to decide they would be best trying to develop a doujutsu.

Adaha was the first to show, and he seemed a bit disappointed not to see anyone else there. Hanabi knew she had to be especially careful -- while his proto-byakugan wasn't as effective as the modern version, it still might be able to expose her if he happened to see her. Thankfully, she was concealed by more than just the foliage, but there was still a chance he could see through her disguise if she moved.

Nanigoto Izure was the next to show. Unlike Adaha, Hanabi's files indicated that he had no real talent whatsoever. His inclusion to Hanabi's team came about because he had twenty-ten vision... or possibly better. Still, it was otherwise normal vision, and therefore not that impressive in ninja terms. Still, he might be able to learn some of the basic doujutsu that could be performed by anyone -- most of which were genjutsu, and which Hanabi would need help teaching, but at least they were something for him to build on.

Curiously, while Izure and Adaha sat around chatting, the time for the meeting to arrive came and went. After almost a half hour of being late, they started to look a bit uncertain -- where was their teacher? For that matter, where was their teammate, Okanemoto Akane? Perhaps they got the wrong place, or the wrong time, or were given the wrong instructions. Perhaps it was time for them to go back and check -- after all, it wasn't too much of a surprise for one person to be late, but two?

Hanabi was starting to get frustrated, herself. Of her three students, Akane was the one she was most interested in. According to the notes she'd recieved from Haruno, Akane had actually managed to develop his own doujutsu technique -- another 'technique anyone could do,' theoretically, but not exactly one anyone else had tried, either. There were no -- or, at the very least, fragmentary -- details as to what the technique was or how it worked, which was a large part of why Hanabi wanted to know what he could do. He had quite a number of negative comments in his profile, however, to go along with his apparent unexpected skill. He was a child of money, one of the wealthier families in Wave Country, and one of the few which managed to profit in the days of Gatoh's oppression. He was a bully and a thug, and a discipline problem wherever he went. As Hanabi read through some of the things about him, she started to realize how Naruto -- and, probably, Hana -- felt when she was placed under their command... because Akane was just like her when she'd first arrived in Blossom. Only worse...

She supposed she could understand him being angry. If she were a boy, and had been given a girls name, she'd probably be pretty upset too. She didn't think, though, that she was as bad of a bully as he was, even at her worst. She had never tried to drown another person's pet for no reason other then just to tease him when she was six (as she'd heard about Akane doing from Inari), she'd never tried murdering the innocent as he had in the same incident, and so on. In fact, Akane should have been locked up and the key thrown away, even though he was still so young... but his family was big money, and got him out of every bit of trouble he had ever been in. They had arranged for him to recieve an education in the Academy, and while he was always frustrating his teacher and classmates he had excelled in his lessons. However, he had problems with discipline, attendance, and teamwork. All problems she never had -- her discipline was pretty good, given her Hyuuga upbringing, she never missed a meeting, and she'd always worked well with her teammates (at least, for all three factors, she performed well inside her own team -- when dealing with 'outsiders,' she used to have a few problems). Haruno's instructions to her were to either turn Akane into a person who wasn't likely to become a missing nin at his first opportunity and would be an asset to the village, or to make him quit. She, for obvious reasons, would rather do the former... but she couldn't exactly do either if he never showed up.

Finally, she decided she couldn't wait any longer, and had to emerge from her hiding place -- it wouldn't do to allow the rest of her team to leave thinking they'd been abandoned just because Akane never showed up. Still, she could have some fun while revealing herself, if she wanted. She slowly moved out from her hiding place, retaining as much of the camouflage as she could. _Let's see how quickly they pick up on my approach,_ she thought.

The closer and closer she got, the more distressed. They weren't picking up on her no matter how close she got, and if they were at all observant they would have seen her quite some time before. Any ninja -- even ones still in the Academy, much less those who had graduated -- should be paying attention at least that observant in their every waking moment. In a few moments, she would be close enough that they should be seeing her even in their sleep... and yet they still missed her.

The other thing that bothered her, after about ten minutes, is that they started repeating the exact same conversation she had heard earlier -- word for word, inflection for inflection, and body language for body language. It was then that she realized what was going on... and she was suddenly very impressed. "Okay, which of you managed it?" she called.

"That would be me," Adaha said, appearing behind her. He was actually a lot closer then she was comfortable with -- in fact, he was close enough to touch her if he wanted. "Kai!" The genjutsu of the two talking ninja dispelled itself, replaced by nothing more then the bare training ground. Adaha and Izure were both within a few feet of her. "You've managed to teach me quite a bit over the past year. I figured out how the byakugan worked well enough to smuggle a basic genjutsu past your senses. The technique doesn't have a name -- yet -- but in essence it relied on the fact that you were looking at us with your byakugan. If you had de-activated it at any point, you would have seen right through us."

"That is... a pretty remarkable technique," Hanabi breathed, feeling a little shaky. To find that her and her clan's greatest technique had such an apparently big flaw was... terrifying, especially considering how much she had relied upon it in the past. This would have to be something she discussed with the clan leaders... once she decided which group of clan members she would accept as her leader. "Is Akane-san here, or was that much of it true?"

"We were really talking about his not being here when we first noticed you," Izure explained. "Adaha-san thought up his little trick when he realized you were looking at us with the byakugan."

"When did you notice?" she asked.

"About four or five minutes before you started moving," Adaha said. "We have been keeping an eye out for him while you were in the genjutsu, but he's been a no-show."

Hanabi grinned hawkishly. "Then I guess we have our first assignment, huh? Operation Locate And Retrieve Absent Team Member. Official training mission -- no commission on it, sorry, but at least there's a small flat fee of five ryou per team member to complete the mission in it for you -- that'll buy you a bowl of ramen and a soft drink, won't it? I can't offer anything more at present, but I want to make sure there's _some_ reward for showing up on time." She didn't mention that the ten ryou they were going to earn would likely be coming out of her salary, since Blossom was still forced to be a bit stingier then its parent village, but there wasn't any real need for them to sweat the details. "Use your eyes as much as possible to track him, capture him, and pull him back here to the training ground. Begin."

It quickly became apparent that Izure was really just slowing them down -- literally. The boy just couldn't move as quickly as the other two, which slowed them all down since any team could only move as fast as its slowest member. It wasn't -- exactly -- that he was that incompetent, as it was that he was just fractionally below average, while both Hanabi and Adaha were well above average for ninja of their experience level. Niether would have given any real competition to the real speedsters of Konoha, like, for example, Rock Lee, Akimichi Moegi, or Inuzuka Kiba (who was reputedly the fastest Inuzuka ever, at his age, according to their clan records), but they could have outpaced most of those who didn't base much of their exceptional fighting abilities on their speed.

Adaha, on the other hand, would have been in the upper echelon of new students even in Konoha's Academy. His performance showed that the Hyuuga clan was pretty powerful, even before it 'enhanced' itself many generations ago. However, he wasn't the only one of the Blossom graduates who would have put in a good showing in Konoha's Academy -- Inari was pretty amazing, Ran Umiko (who Hanabi had heard some rather... disturbing rumors about, which she really needed to talk to Konohamaru to see if they were true) seemed to be pretty competent, and -- as much of a discipline problem as he appeared to be -- Okanemoto Akane should have qualified to be as good as the average boy raised in one of the twelve clans could be expected to be, fresh from the Academy.

It looked as if this whole Blossom Academy thing would actually work out, after all. That is, if students like Adaha and Inari lived up to their potential -- if they went bust (and Hanabi certainly was hoping they wouldn't -- she liked both boys very much, after all) then Blossom was doomed to fail, unable to support itself as a ninja village truly should. Which was largely why this final set of training missions was so vital. And why they couldn't afford to have genin like Akane fail to participate. That, or they couldn't afford to have genin like Akane go on missions, because that would smear Blossom's reputation.

And students like Izure weren't good for running missions at all, and should be shunted immediately into the administrative ninja program. He seemed competent at taking orders, and he presented a reasonable attitude, but he was definitely not of the caliber that a ninja should be. He had nothing exceptional, no skills, and was behind on everything compared to the average genin. He seemed to know it, though -- his embarrassed smile as he tried to keep up betrayed that he already knew he wasn't destined to make it on one of the final teams.

Finally, however, they had located their prey, and even Izure was able to put on a second gear in order to close the distance. It helped that Akane wasn't exactly moving -- instead, he was busy eating. He ignored the two rookie genin as they landed three feet from him, instead taking another casual bite from his bowl of rice. After swallowing, he glanced up at them. "Hm. What are you two doing here?"

Adaha smirked. "Training mission. Find, capture, and retrieve someone."

Akane's eyes narrowed. "Oh? And who is this someone?"

"Why, you, of course," Izure chimed in. "Do you want to go quietly, or are we going to have to drag you out of here by your ears?"

Hanabi considered stepping in, despite her having declared this a training mission -- it was not her intention to have her genin do battle against each other at this point -- but she decided to hold on and see how things worked themselves out. She'd be ready to move, however, before they hurt themselves.

Akane took another slow bite of his rice and sighed. "Look, I'm not going anywhere until I finish my breakfast. That girl who's supposed to teach us our 'ultimate techniques' is just going to have to deal with my being late."

"I'm afraid that's not a choice, Akane-san," Izure replied, pulling out a kunai. "We were given a mission, after all, and I refuse to fail in it."

"And I will not disappoint Hanabi-chan," Adaha added. "You will come with us voluntarily, or we will force you. Your choice."

"Try it," Akane challenged.

Izure suddenly leapt up, tossing not one but a full brace of kunai at the boy. Akane leapt up only to land in a nearly invisible wire net a second set of shuriken was carrying his way disguised through a kage shuriken technique. _Impressive,_ Hanabi thought grudgingly. _I suppose that even with inferior physical skills, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, he still has a trick or two up his sleeves. Shuriken technique like that is very advanced. Maybe he should be kept on as a genin, after all... but he'd need a lot of training, and not of the sort I can give him..._

Akane, however, wasn't as fooled as Izure had hoped. A blade flashed out, slicing through the net before it had a chance to wrap around him, and he slipped through the wires with only a few small scratches to account for. Then he looked up to meet his attacker's eyes.

By this point, Hanabi had her byakugan activated, but it didn't help her figure out exactly what had happened -- possibly not even a sharingan would have been much of a help, from her vantagepoint. All that she knew was that there was a flash, and then suddenly Izure was staggering around as if he was blind. Adaha moved in, but another locked stare with another flash stopped him mid-movement, as well. _Well,_ Hanabi thought, _I guess that's his doujutsu. It seems he can blind people by making eye contact with them. Interesting... not an especially powerful technique if you know to expect it, but interesting nonetheless. Well, I guess it's time for me to intervene._

"I think this has gone on long enough," she said, stepping out of the shadows concealing her as she spoke. Akane's eyes turned towards her, revealing both of his eyes -- and not just the pupils or some other part of them -- to shine with a metallic gold. She quickly turned her head, relying on her byakugan to keep watch on him but not letting her eyes make direct contact. "Impressive technique."

Akane's eyes returned to normal as he squinted, trying to focus on her and see if she was being sarcastic or not. "It's stupid. Just like about every other ninja technique I've learned -- I mean, really, what's the point of all this junk we've been taught? Why use hand-to-hand combat with today's weaponry being available? Not that anyone really seems to know how to _use_ weapons, or else casualty rates among ninja would be a lot higher then they reportedly are. We're told to work in teams, but we almost never fight as a team -- rather, we break apart and each handle our enemies one on one, or we let one person fight and step in when they tire. We're told to conceal ourselves, but how often do we have just one enemy to fight in this day and age? Once we attack, we give away our position, and so concealing ourselves is only briefly useful -- not as useful as one would think, considering how much emphasis is placed on it in the Academy."

"That's where team-oriented tactics come into play," Hanabi noted grimly. It appeared as if Akane wasn't just an anti-social bully, but also a cynic. "Concealment is only part of what you really want those tactics for -- misdirection. Teams are generally of three or four, allowing one person to be a distraction while the others move in to attack. Once they attack, in theory, they become the distraction and the first attacker is supposed to conceal himself again. It doesn't usually work out that way, but that is the concept. It's all part of tactics... and tactics are rarely something that can be fully worked out until the final team is assembled. The techniques you are learning are designed to give your sensei -- or your commander -- tools with which he can mold his tactical plan."

"But we aren't supposed to ever let anyone know all of what we can do," Akane complained. "So he'll never know what 'tools' he has at his disposal."

Hanabi grinned darkly. "Generally, the jounin will administer a test upon first recieving his team. During that test, he will fight his three students, offering them a goal. While the genin will rarely reveal all that he can do, he will show what techniques he is most comfortable using pretty quickly... something which the jounin can use as the basis for forming tactical plans. Not to mention the techniques common to just about every ninja -- your skill at each of those techniques will have been evaluated by Haruno-sensei and Naruto-sensei, and will be included in her report to your jounin-sensei. And those techniques can be very useful in the right situation."

Akane shrugged. "I don't care. I don't think it's worth missing breakfast so that you can try and teach me how to use my own pathetic technique, especially when you don't know what my technique is. I'm certainly not going to tell you."

Hanabi paused. "You're right. The nature of your doujutsu is so different from mine, it would be impractical to expect that I could help you with it. But you need my recommendation in order to progress past this point, Akane-san, and I think you would be best to try and work with me on it."

"Yeah? Why is that?" Akane asked, unconcerned, as he sat back down dismissively and started back on his meal. "I belong to the wealthiest family in Wave Country. I don't need this job, and I see it as a waste of my time."

Hanabi smirked. "Well, nothing says you need to continue as a ninja for your career," she agreed. "But if you choose not to become a ninja, then I'm afraid your life is going to become very... difficult."

"There has never been anything my parent's money hasn't been able to save me from," Akane snorted.

"Curious, I used to think the same thing," Hanabi mused. "After all, I am the closest thing to ninja royalty that Konoha has. Turns out I was wrong -- Naruto-san and Inari-kun were more than just well-suited to tearing away that illusion from me, considering how much they've done for me since then. Maybe I need to bust your balls until you learn the same thing, huh?"

"And just what are you going to do that my parents money can't solve?" Akane asked, chortling. "We're wealthier then any ninja family! Hell, we're richer then some countries, nowadays."

"Well, see, your parents signed a contract on your behalf when you joined the Academy," Hanabi started. "It details certain... restrictions we can impose on you, if we so choose, should you decide to quit being a ninja."

"What kind of 'restrictions' are these?" Akane asked, his eyes narrowing darkly.

"Well, Blossom has made a significant investment in your education," Hanabi explained. "In addition to the equipment, shelter, and consumable supplies we have provided for you -- which, I'm sure you'll point out, could always be paid for by your family -- we have also imparted into you a large amount of important information and training. Training which makes you a danger to those around you, and therefore our responsibility. And information which could prove dangerous in the wrong hands. To that end, we've required that you submit to restrictions to protect those secrets and those around you."

"Get to the point," Akane growled.

"Well, it's simple," Hanabi said, a grin on her face. "If we feel you've... learned too much, we can restrict your movements as we see fit in order to protect ourselves and others. Now, usually, the strictest imposition we make is to confine a person to a village, but there have been cases of certain, especially strong ninja who were felt to be such threats that they were restricted to a single room."

"And if I left, anyway?"

"Well, then, you'd be declared a missing nin," Hanabi explained. "Which would mean any and every ninja in Konoha, Blossom, and our allied and associated countries would be on the lookout for you, with a standing bounty -- typically the equivalent of at least a B rank mission, though sometimes all the way up to an S-rank's level -- for your death or capture. Sometimes, if they see nothing to gain from it otherwise, even a hostile country will seek the bounty on missing nin... and, considering your relative skill level, I suspect that would be the case. In essence, if you violate the probation we set for you, you become a hunted man. Your money may help you escape from capture and death for a time, but it's unlikely you'll have a very pleasant life in that time."

Akane slowly set down his chopsticks. "I suppose I'll remain a ninja, then."

Hanabi grinned. Well, it had taken a few colorful exagerations, and perhaps he'd never become the most enthusiastic of ninja nor the most pleasant to work with... but, knowing the alternatives he had, perhaps he could be threatened into becoming a competent ninja. It was worth a shot, anyway.

* * *

Notes: Yes, that's the end of Hanabi's team's story. No follow-up chapters to this, with this team. The rest of their time is spent working on specifics, drilling, sparring, and Hanabi evaluating -- not exactly the most interesting of things to write about, ya see. The important and interesting things have already happened here, and next time Hanabi or her team is mentioned, we'll be redistributing teams to their various permanent captains (namely, Naruto, Sakura, and Ino). I'll be interested to see what you all think the final teams will be as you're introduced to more of the genin. (You already know Adaha, Inari, and Ran from earlier storylines... Chikan and Pansuke (well, as much as she's going to be developed, any way -- sometimes, a person just doesn't change, and really are as shallow as surface appearances make them), too, sort of. This gives you an overview of Akane. I haven't exactly revealed who all of the 'winning' genin will be (although I suspect there's enough hints to figure out who the others will be), so you can work on that as well as try and figure out who the teams will ultimately be. The only hint I'll give you outside of what you already know is that the genin will all come from the taijutsu, doujutsu, elemental, espionage, and summoning teams, and there will be no two members of the same of these training teams together on the final teams. Make your guesses now. (Hm, maybe I've finally come up with a 'guess what's coming next' challenge that will manage to stump everyone and not just a scattered few reviewers. Usually, people have figured out my challenges) As an award, if anyone comes up with the EXACT team breakdown in one guess (per chapter -- no spamming the guesses, in other words), and delivers that via a SIGNED review, I'll answer any one specific question -- regardless of how many spoilers are given away -- about the upcoming fic. Sorry, it's the best I can do, since I think it's silly to make rewards of 'I'll use your name' or something like that.

I used the name 'Akane' from the series, as the boy (and I'm almost certain it was a boy) who was tormenting Inari and his dog during the Wave Country arc. However... Akane is a girl's name -- at least, according to every resource I have, so I suppose I could be wrong there and it might be unisex -- so I figured I'd bring that up here. It could be, I suppose, that the bully was just a girl who was so young that Kishimoto couldn't draw any distinction between 'her' and a boy -- at least, not at that point of his career (Moegi and Hanabi's appearances, as well as Chibi-Sakura and Chibi-Ino, would seem to disprove that). However, I'm going more with the 'boy given a girl's name' theory. Just an FYI.

I tried to create a throw-away character who would just 'be there' in the background for this chapter and never appear again, and as I tried to emphasize how boringly normal he was he wound up being a bit more interesting to write for then I planned. I dunno what Izure is going to be doing in this story, but he seems to have caught on in my head. I may try and fit him in elsewhere -- if not in this fic, possibly in the next-gen sequel (which is, btw, not fully planned out -- I've got a premise for that story, a few plans for the opening scenes, and an idea of who the major and primary supporting characters will be... but not a full plot, so I've got a LOT of room for expansion in that story if I need it for characters like Izure). I've already got a TINY bit of a story plot for his character to be involved with, so I suppose you'll be seeing more of him in time, at least.

In case anyone is interested, Izure's name (according to an online English-Japanese dictionary which I'm using almost exclusively to figure out the names for these people) means Who What, or rather What (Nanigoto) Who (Izure, which can also mean which, anyway, any how, at any rate, and where). I've come up with a few names like this for these 'future admin-genin' who aren't supposed to appear again outside of possible brief mentions. One (Kainashi Rouhi) was derived from 'useless waste,' another ( Ekisutora Bangai) was 'extra extra,' and one (Yowamushi Kasuka) 'weak weaking' or 'weakling weak' -- I forget which was which. I'm not certain if these are the correct usage of these words (I recall, once, a Spanish language teacher I had in high school discussing why we shouldn't rely on our dictionaries so much. She told of a Spanish-English dictionary that translated the spanish word for 'creative' as 'insane,' since one definition of 'insane' is 'wildly imaginative,' which is the same as 'creative' in some other dictionaries. I imagine that's the case with many of these words -- the words aren't QUITE properly defined), but as they're names and not attempts at dialog, I don't feel guilty if I make too many mistakes in this regard. However, the intention with these names is to follow the tradition of making every name mean something.

Next Chapter: Sakura's team goes into action. I'm a bit worried that one'll become a two-chapter set, but we'll see. Sometimes, what I think will take a long bit of writing takes very little, and visa versa.


	51. V3 Chapter 41

Volume 3

Notes: I am NOT going to be explaining how to find this fic on Mediaminer any more. I've explained several times, cleared up everything I could, and did everything possible short of giving you the direct link yourself. I'm sorry, but sending an e-mail to every reader interested in finding it on mediaminer would be silly -- I have at least seven hundred readers who've put this fic in their favorites or on alerts, and who knows how many others who follow this fic some other way -- if all of them asked for links in e-mail to the mediaminer version, I'd be spending all my time e-mailing and none writing! Please, TRY to find it yourself -- it's NOT THAT HARD. Just remember it's Y rated, and there shouldn't be a problem. (This means you have to adjust all search settings, since the search defaults below Y)

I'm a bit disappointed that no-one has even tried (as of the time I write these author's notes) my challenge last chapter. Then again, reviews have been down significantly since I returned from my brief hiatus, and many of my regulars haven't commented once yet which makes me think a lot of them haven't realized I'm working on the fic again. Well, that, and it's a rather complex challenge. Still, I'd like to see at least one guess before I write the chapter which reveals the final make-up of the three teams.

Well, on with the fic...

* * *

Chapter 41

Sakura shook her head. _Why do I get all the perverts?_ she wondered. Ran Umiko was the tamest of the trio, and if what she heard from Konohamaru was true then that was saying something. She didn't trust Chikan, and didn't _like_ Hiniku Butakatsu, which was going to make these lessons... interesting, to say the least. She just hoped she didn't kill any of her students during the training. With a sigh, she sat on a rock in her assigned training area and waited for them to arrive.

Chikan, looking a bit nervous, was the first person to arrive. He grinned up at her hesitantly and said, "Um, hello, Sakura-sensei. I... uh, I'm here."

For a moment, Sakura wondered just what was going on with him, and then realized. This was the first time the two had been alone since Naruto's little trick on the boy. In fact, outside of classroom settings, Sakura could count on one hand the number of times she had seen him around the village -- obviously, he had been avoiding her. She was glad he had been, but now... well, apparently she'd managed to intimidate him into treating her with some respect. Maybe this would be all right.

"Yes, you are," Sakura said, smirking darkly at him. "You are now under my direct command, and will be for the next couple of weeks. This should prove... interesting, don't you think?"

Chikan swallowed. "Is it too late to ask that I be transferred into another group?"

"Yes."

A moment passed before the eminent arrival of the other two teammates was announced by a loud argument between Hiniku Butakatsu and Ran Umiko. As Sakura already knew, Butakatsu was a male chauvinist pig of the worst kind, but usually managed to keep himself from being involved in anything... too violent, as far as the bickering went. Somehow, though, he seemed to have stepped over some line with the girl. Sakura couldn't immediately tell what the argument was about, but it seemed to end the moment they came into view -- their appearance relieving Chikan greatly. As the pair strode over to join the team, she sighed -- it seemed as if this team would be even more trouble then she feared. _Well, at least they only have to co-exist for the next two weeks. Surely they can handle that! And if they can't... well, it's only two weeks. Surely_ I _can handle that._

Standing up from her rock and dusting off her read end, she sighed. "Well, I can tell this is going to be fun. Okay, people, you're all here to learn how to summon creatures in ninja combat. You may recall that our very first lesson at the Academy, together, I gave everyone a brief demonstration of a basic summoning technique using paper seals. Summoning living beings, however, is a very different prospect. Now, does anyone know anything about it?"

Umiko started to say something, but then looked rather uncomfortable and shook her head. Chikan, however, wasn't quite so hesitant. "Well... I know a few people around here who can summon creatures, and they all seem to summon only one kind of creature. I've seen Naruto-sensei summon frogs, Konohamaru-sempai summon various simians, and Daichi-sempai summon centipedes. Oh, and both Inuzuka girls know how to summon dogs."

"And so does Kakashi-sensei," Sakura agreed, nodding. "And I summon slugs. Trust me when I say I wasn't exactly enthused at the choice of creatures, but I suppose I should be grateful for such a boon. That is correct -- each summoner can really only summon one type of creature. Though that's not quite true, exactly. What is more accurate is that you can only summon creatures with which you have signed a contract. The Inuzuka clan passes down a contract with the dogs, but if a member of the clan also wanted to -- for example -- sign a contract with the cats, they could. And if they did, they could summon either a dog or a cat. But... well, it almost never happens -- signing a contract with two different species is generally considered a bad idea. I'm not clear why, actually, but I believe it has something to do with the chance of the two species getting hostile against each other and what that might do to the holder of those contracts."

"Contracts?" Chikan asked. He seemed to be the only person willing to ask questions -- he was nervous around Sakura, yes, but he also seemed genuinely interested in the lessons. Ran Umiko, however, seemed to be too shy (astonishingly) to ask whatever questions she had, and Butakatsu was putting on a studied air of disinterest. "What kind of contracts?"

Sakura reached behind her rock and pulled out an oversized scroll. "This kind. The scroll I signed is currently in the possession of Tsunade-shishou, the hokage, in Konoha... but I was given permission to borrow this one and show it to you. This is the contract with the frogs, the contract signed by both Jiraiya-sama and Naruto-kun. You do not have permission to sign this contract, mind, but it should give you an idea of what it should look like." The unrolled it, and pointed out parts of it to them. "As you can tell, some parts of the scroll are in ancient languages we can no longer read, and there is a long section for each human to sign it."

The three genin stared at it curiously, each trying to remember the important parts of it. Umiko finally managed to ask a question when she was done. "What happens when you run out of paper?"

"Good question," Sakura replied, glad that someone other then Chikan had spoken. "With most species of ninja animals, there can be multiple contracts circulating at any one time. Kakashi-sensei's contract with the dogs is different from the ones in the Inuzuka clan archives -- which includes five completely filled scrolls and two still circulating at this point. The village of Grass, which if you recall we fought a major battle against a few months ago, has four different contracts with the bears... three of which circulate among their GHuND, rather then any specific clan. However, there are five ninja animal clans which each permit only one single contract to be in circulation at any one time. Those five are the most powerful summonings, and the amount of chakra required for even the weakest summoning for those species is at a minimum ten times greater then the most powerful summoning of the others. A master-level summoner of these species may create one-time use contracts to summon these beasts, and almost always it takes dozens of jounin-level ninja wiping themselves out of chakra to activate. They are the ultimate creatures to summon, and it is possible to summon creatures of great size in these five species. The toads are one such species. When this contract is full, another may be filled out... but whoever makes it will have to undergo the trials that the toads will place their human companions through."

"What are the other four greater species?" Chikan asked.

"It won't matter much to you," Sakura snorted. "But I suppose you might as well know what you won't be able to summon. Of the five greater species, Konoha holds two. We did hold three, but one was in the possession of a man who became a missing ninja, and therefore is lost to us... although Anko-chan, who you may have met around town, did sign a contract with that third species when she was about your age. That was the snake... and if you ever see someone summon a snake, outside of Anko-chan... be very careful. Currently, Konoha's greatest enemy is the only man who can submit a student's name to the snake scroll."

Recognizing the order, the three neophyte genin nodded. "Yes, Sakura-sensei," they chorused.

"The toads, obviously, are one of the species Konoha controls the contract of. Slugs are the other." She grinned wryly at that, noting the startled looks of her team at the revelation. Truth be told, until she took in part of the kyuubi it had taken her months of conservation in order to accumulate the chakra needed for the greater summoning... but she didn't want to disillusion the awe that her new students held for her at that statement. After all, she _was_ that powerful, now. "The remaining two, however, are in the possession of the Rock... which makes Rock an especially dangerous enemy, and about the only nation which can, in theory, match Konoha's power without the aid of others. The stalemate our war ended in a couple decades ago was when we still held the power of the snake in our grasp -- while we still believe we are stronger, there have been serious questions about whether we would have one that war without that last great summoning. So, if you ever see the summoning of a bird or a spider take place, you can identify the summoner as being a member of the Rock."

"This is all well and good," Butakatsu finally said, putting his wieght forward intimidatingly... though Sakura wasn't the least bit intimidated, but rather disgusted. "But it's really just a history lesson, and I'm not particularly interested in history lessons when there's something more important to deal with. Namely, how are we going to get contracts? This toad contract is the only one I see, but you've said we are not to sign it. So, what are we going to do?"

Sakura sighed. She had enjoyed giving her lecture -- a guilty pleasure she'd had since she became a ninja was that she always enjoyed showing how much more she knew then just about anyone else her age (something Naruto had often given her the joy of doing) -- but she supposed that Butakatsu was correct. She did need to tell everyone just what it was they were going to do, and then get them all ready to do it.

"Well, we'll be going on a training mission," she began. "And it's going to be a difficult one -- harder then most. In fact, this particular 'training mission' is so difficult it's being offered to you at a C-grade pay rate. It is your choice whether to accept this mission or not, but please note that refusal will almost certainly mean you will be returning to the Academy for retraining as an administrative ninja."

"Where is this training mission to?" Butakatsu asked suspiciously.

Sakura sighed. "I'm... not sure what the place is called. I do know that the only way to reach it, however, is by boat. The arrangements are already made -- go home, pack and prepare for a two week trip, and return here in two hours. We're leaving immediately for a nearby port, where a Wave Country naval vessel will be waiting to take us there. Now, go!" The three genin stood there, gaping at her. Putting a stern expression on her face, she glared at them. "What are you waiting for? You've got two hours!"

They scattered. Sakura paused for a moment, making sure they were gone, and then let the smile she was holding in break out. _Hm... seems they follow orders well enough._

* * *

"Oog. I feel seasick," Chikan moaned, clenching his stomach.

"Seasick?" the Admiral of the Wave, Kaji, said. Sakura recognized him as the same boatman who took her and the rest of the original Team 7 across to Wave Country in their first ever C-class mission. A curious selection for Admiral, perhaps, but then again, so was making a bridge builder into a prime minister on the face of it, yet Tazuna had proved to be an excellent leader for his people. "How can you be seasick? We still aren't on the boat!"

In fact, they were walking down the pier towards one of the three boats moored to it. The wooden planks creaked and moaned a bit, and perhaps there was some motion to them, but getting seasick just walking down it was ridiculous. Sakura sighed. "We've got a good supply of gari aboard, right?"

"Concentrated ginger pills," Kaji replied. "A tiny bit more effective, in my experience."

Sakura shrugged. "Tsunade-shishou's tests were inconclusive, but they both work well enough. I suspect we'll have to break into those pills pretty quickly."

"We'll have to get him on the boat, first," Kaji noted. "They're all in the medicine chest on board."

Sakura glanced at Chikan hesitantly. As unlikely as it was that someone would be sick from walking down the length of the dock, he did look convincingly green. She didn't want to be the one to help him to the boat, though -- her apprenticeship under Tsunade had lead to be being thrown up on often enough for one lifetime that she didn't want to experience it again if she could avoid it -- but, then again, she didn't have to. Walking past the crumpled heap of ninja, she shot an order over her shoulder.

"Umino-san, Butakatsu, carry him to the boat. We'll treat him there."

"Yes, sensei!" they both replied automatically. Followed by, "Ew," as the sounds of vomitting came from behind her.

* * *

"I must say, this is a much nicer boat then the _last_ time we travelled together, Kaji-san," Sakura commented, glancing at the stars as they cruised through the waters at night. "Although most of the company was a bit better... not that I appreciated it as much as I should have at the time."

"Ah, these kids are decent enough," Kaji replied.

"Yes, but Naruto wasn't seasick and throwing up over everything -- and everyone."

Kaji chuckled ruefully. "How many times has he gotten you so far?"

"Just the once," Sakura said. "I've been able to keep my distance from him most of the time, but I wasn't expecting him to throw up when I was handing him his ginger pills."

"You're lucky -- he's got the rest of us at least four times each. He_ is _getting better, though," Kaji noted dryly. "I imagine he'll have his sea-legs by the time he no longer needs them."

"Great," Sakura cheered sarcastically, then shook her head. "I'd hate to see what he was like if we weren't giving him ginger pills. My question, however, is just what the hell is he puking up? I haven't seen him eat anything since before we left on the trip -- he should be giving dry heaves by now, not throwing anything up."

"Water," Kaji explained. "To keep a vomiting man from getting dehydrated, you give them water. The problem is, they can throw up the water you give them, forcing them to drink more water, which they can then throw up. It becomes a cycle... and the only real cure for it is to stop puking. Sadly, this boy seems to be taking a lot longer to get over his seasickness then he should."

"Hm. If you gave him the water intravenously, you'd avoid that problem and he'd be rehydrated a lot more effectively," Sakura mused. "Might even help with the seasickness."

"Unless you have the equipment for it, we can't do that," Kaji pointed out.

"True," Sakura sighed, leaning back against the boat rail to look at the moon.

"He should be fine, though," Kaji said. "The first time I ever saw Naruto-san, I... wasn't very impressed. However, I know he has become a great ninja. I may not be able to see much in this Chikan boy, now, but I've learned never to underestimate anyone."

Sakura chuckled. "I love Naruto-kun dearly, but he does generally make a bad first impression, doesn't he? Sometimes, it takes a while to recover from that bad impression, too. I... overlooked him for years longer then I should have."

Kaji looked at her briefly. "I thought you were interested in that other teammate of yours... Sasuke-san, if I remember his name correctly. The history texts we have now talk of your tears over his wounds, at any rate."

Sakura winced. "Sasuke... is gone. Surely word about him has reached you by now?"

Kaji flushed, turning away. "Dead? Oh, I'm sorry..."

"No, not dead," Sakura sighed. "It probably would be easier if he were. Instead, he's become corrupted -- twisted by both inner demons and outer until he went insane. He's being held in thrall by Konoha's greatest enemy, his desire for revenge being used against him."

"Again, I'm sorry," Kaji replied, bowing his head. "Many of us had hoped for a fairy tale ending for your story with him."

There was a pause before Sakura spoke up again. "There is one, but it's not the kind of fairy tale ending you'd think. I had fallen in love with the wrong man -- Sasuke was never who I believed him to be. What made me fall in love with him was, in large part, a case of mistaken identity. Someone protected me from some bullies when I was very young, and I thought it was Sasuke. I became a ninja because of him... but it wasn't Sasuke after all. It was Naruto-kun..."

Kaji grinned. "Ah. Well, then, all that we have to wait for is a 'happily ever after.' So, when are the two of you getting married?"

Sakura blushed. "Not any time soon. I'm afraid if that's what's required for this to be a 'fairy tale romance,' it's not going to qualify."

The old boatman looked at her curiously. "And why aren't you getting married? Is there a problem?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. I just... just... look, just drop it. I don't want to talk about it." It came out harsher then she intended, but whenever she thought of marriage the panic set in again and she couldn't help it. Her distress didn't go unnoticed, however.

"Very well," Kaji said, standing up quietly. "I am sorry for offending you, Sakura-san. I suggest you get some sleep -- we'll be at the island in the morning. Assuming the location you gave me is correct -- I've never seen it on any map."

"That's because its location is secret, even to most ninja," Sakura replied. "There are no people who live there, as well. When we get there, you will not be able to leave the dock, I'm afraid -- it is forbidden for any to see the land who do not have a mission. Those are not our rules, either, but the island's."

"The island's?" Kaji repeated, curious. "How can an uninhabited island have rules?"

Sakura grinned. "Well, you can't leave the dock... but you'll be able to see enough, I think, that you'll figure that one out pretty fast."

* * *

While Sakura had been told what to expect upon landing at the island, she was rather surprised to find what was waiting for her. She knew that it was inhabited by many of the animals who formed bonds with ninja -- both those yet to contract with humans and those who had -- and certainly would not have been surprised to find that one or two could be seen from the dock. She was not, however, expecting a delegation of them to be waiting for her.

"Sakura-chan!" an unexpected, but familiar, voice called from the assembly in front of her.

"Gamakichi-san!" Sakura replied, her voice almost cracking with astonishment. "How... why... I..."

"Good to see you, too," the little frog cracked, hopping down to meet her at the tie-down for the dock.

"Of course I'm glad to see you -- and your friends," Sakura replied, gesturing impatiently to the three horse-sized toads and the elephant-sized slug standing at the other end of the dock. "But how the hell did you know we were coming, and what are you doing here?"

Gamakichi snorted. "It's a bit of a story, but the short version is that Naruto wanted me to help ya, and so I came here to help. Now, we've already got an encampment set up for you and your team, and we've got rides here for you all. I'd like to get to the camp before it's dark, though, so can we get a move on?"

"Um, sure. Although... rides? We can ride the other frogs?"

"No, your _students_ can ride the frogs. Gamabunta won't let you on them, however, unless a toad master is accompanying you -- someone like Naruto or Jiraiya. You _are_ a slug master, after all, and the slugs and the toads haven't always got along -- none of the five greater species do. Slugs and toads get along better then most, but you still can't ride us -- you have to take the slug which Katsuya has 'graciously' assigned as your assistant, here."

Sakura hesitated. "Does Gamabunta have any problems with one of his toad masters dating a slug master?"

Gamakichi laughed. "No, of course not! You're humans, after all, and you have your own set of politics. But here, where our own internal politics matter, it's not a good idea for it to seem as if the toads and the slugs are getting too close -- the others might get, um, nervous. Surely you can understand the politics of appearances?"

Sakura snorted. "Yeah, all too well. I didn't spend my time apprenticing under the hokage not paying any attention to what was going on around me."

"Then you understand why we can't allow ourselves to violate a centuries old principle in the direct view of our allies and enemies if we can avoid it. And the very simple way to avoid it, in this case, is to ask you to ride a slug instead of a frog."

She shook her head. "I wasn't complaining, exactly -- I was just, um, worried about anything which might effect my relationship with Naruto-kun."

Gamakichi rolled his eyes up at her. "Hm. You aren't planning on signing his contract with the toads, are you?"

Sakura blinked. "Um, no."

"And he's not planning on signing yours with the slugs, is he?"

"We're usually taught that signing the contracts for more then one ninja familiar is a bad idea," Sakura pointed out. "So, unless he's come up with some sort of 'brilliant' brainstorm I don't know about, and returned to Konoha in the meantime, probably not."

"Then you're fine!" Gamakichi laughed. "Although, it's not really a problem to sign more then one contract, just make sure that the two tribes are aligned with each other. For example, you have a contract with the slugs, so it would be perfectly acceptable to make a contract with the snails as well."

"I think I'll stick with the 'one contract per person' rule for my students," Sakura replied. "I'm not sure how the alliances work around here, and I'm pretty sure they don't, either."

Gamakichi nodded. "That's okay. But if you and Naruto ever want to be able to share a summoning contracts, I suggest you contact the turtles. A human by the name of Maito Gai has a contract with the turtles in Konoha, I understand -- that's about the only species both the slug tribe and the toad tribe share an alliance with. Well, the only one which contracts with humans, anyway."

"Thanks, but I don't think we'll need to," Sakura answered, bowing her head slightly in acknowledgement. "Besides, I'm afraid of what Gai-sensei would make us do in order to recieve such a gift as the contract. He's a bit, um, overenthusiastic about some things."

Gamakichi nodded hesitantly. "Well... something just occured to me which might, actually, effect your relationship with Naruto in that case."

Sakura frowned. "There is? That... doesn't sound good."

If Sakura didn't know it was impossible for a toad to blush, she would have thought Gamakichi was doing so right then. "Um, well... if you and Naruto, uh, have... kids of your own, you know, I don't think the other animals would appreciate if the child became a summoner for either toads or slugs."

"A... child of our own," Sakura repeated stiffly.

"Um, yeah. So, you might want to get a copy of that turtle contract while you're at it, just so, well, so you'll be prepared," the frog concluded. "Er... assuming there's any chance of that happening."

"Um, right," Sakura replied. "Assuming that there is any chance of that happening."

She was so flustered she almost left without her students.

* * *

Notes: Sakura mentions 'gari' at one point. That is the (usually) pink pickled ginger you get with your order from most sushi places. It's good with sushi, but it's also VERY good at relieving stomach aches of the kind associated with motion sickness (and some other kinds as well, in my experience, but I have no data to prove it outside of personal experience). According to Mythbusters (Discovery channel TV show which conducts some more-or-less scientific tests to debunk myths and urban legends, or to prove them), Ginger is actually more effective then what you'd get in a prescription for seasickness (I knew it was effective, but not that it was more effective then the medication), and doesn't give you the side-effect of drowsiness. And is probably more appropriate for this fic then modern medicine, as well.

Next chapter: Part 2 of Sakura's experience. Should be the last chapter of Sakura's story in this arc until the wrap-up, but we'll see.


	52. V3 Chapter 42

Volume 3

Notes: A good point was brought up that showed I goofed on the last chapter, but it can be explained away pretty easily. Kidoumaru can summon spiders, yes. However... remember Sound is a new village -- that would mean many of their higher-level ninja could have come from OTHER villages. Kidoumaru could have been a former missing nin of the Rock, and therefore have once had access to the Spider scroll. There, explanation made. Heh.

Just to make things a bit clearer about my challenge: I am asking that you guess the make-up of all three teams -- getting just one right isn't enough. To make things easier, I'll point out that Naruto, Sakura, and Ino are the three captains, and I'll even give you another small hint since I've decided not to do Ino's team after all: Munamoto Sousou and Seiteki Pansuki are on two different teams, while Ekisutora Bangai is an admin and therefore not on any teams (which you probably should have guessed, since I told you her name was 'Extra Extra,' although I suppose you might have also thought she was supposed to be a newsmaker with that name).

The TONFA Awards are still going on. Since the restart, I haven't seen anything really worth complaining about... other then that there aren't nearly as many voters voting as before. Go and vote if you want.

* * *

Chapter 42

Sakura hesitated. Her genin were all off on their own journeys at the moment, leaving her alone. Umiko was on her way to commune with the horses, Butakatsu was last seen mudwrestling with some pigs (apparently, in order for them to agree to the contract, he had to beat a gauntlet of challengers in contests of strength), and Chikan... hadn't known which animal he wanted, and so was out wandering around to various clans, using Gamakichi as his guide, as he tried to make a choice. The rest of the frogs had remained back at camp, waiting for the return of the genin. Sakura had set off on her own journey, but they refused to come with her. Her slug, however, had managed to guide her where she wanted to go before disappearing. And now... well, now the negotiations were over. She just had to commit herself to the agreement... and she wasn't sure the deal was quite right for what she had in mind.

"I'm afraid that's really my best offer," the turtle she was talking to said. "If you're trying to think of some way to improve it, I fear the answer will be 'no.'"

"Oh, the offer's fine," Sakura admitted. It was, in truth, a standard contract of its type -- a simple sacrifice of some blood in exchange for unlimited power to summon turtles, just as it was for most of the other contracts out there. She'd heard of a couple which required no sacrifice other then some chakra, of course, but those were rare. She'd heard of others -- including the contract with the snakes Orochimaru and, she now feared, Sasuke had both signed -- which required the addition of human sacrifices in order for the snakes to accept 'control' by the snake masters. When Konoha held the snake contract, condemned prisoners were often sacrificed to the snakes... although, once Orochimaru had betrayed Konoha and his papers had been gone through, it was revealed that many more sacrifices were actually required then those condemned prisoners could account for... leading many to wonder just who had been sacrificed, since disappearances in Konoha could not account for the hundreds of people required to feed the contract, as well.

"Then what is the delay?" the turtle asked. "I know you humans think we turtles are slow, but we only _move_ slow. We can get impatient, just like everyone else in the world."

"I'm well aware of that," Sakura replied. "I wouldn't be making this agreement with you if I thought you were slow. I'm just... a bit torn about it."

"Why?"

"Er, it's... complicated," Sakura answered. "There's the whole expiration date thing that's bugging me, mostly. I... I'm not sure I like that aspect of the contract."

"That is fairly standard in these contracts," the turtle pointed out. "We don't like having our contracts just laying about, where anyone could use and abuse them. Especially blank ones -- all we're asking is that you sign it sooner rather then later."

Sakura flushed. "Um... I'm not going to be the one signing this contract."

The turtle, moving faster then he could possibly be expected to move, snatched the contract out of her hand furiously. "What?" he cried. "What are you planning on doing with it, then? Are you selling it to the highest bidder? Our services are not bought that cheaply! You must be the one to sign it, or it is forbidden that you hold it, and you must sign it and perform your first summoning within five years, or else it is void. Those are the rules."

Sakura backed off, holding her hands up in a concilliatory gesture. "Please... could I be allowed to explain before you deny me entirely? I am asking for this because of... exceptional circumstances."

The turtle looked on suspiciously, but nodded. "I will hear your case, but it would be highly... unusual, for any exemptions to be granted."

Sakura took a deep breath. "I was guided here by a slug, as you saw. That is because I am a slug master back in the human world, one of only two currently in existance."

"I was aware of that," the turtle replied. "I doubt the slugs would grant you a ride if you were. I was a bit surprised you wanted a contract with us, knowing how powerful our allies, the slugs, are."

"Your services were recommended to me by another, however," Sakura continued. "A frog -- one by the name of Gamakichi, I believe. The slugs were helping me because I'm a slug master. The toads have been helping me, however, because... my, um, fiance is a toad master."

The turtle frowned for a moment. "Forgive me -- my concept of human relationships is a bit off. What is a 'fiance?'"

Sakura blushed. "Well... it is where two humans -- a male and a female -- agree to get married. To, um, mate, if you will. Which generally means... having children." Her cheeks flushed brighter. "I'm not ready to have children, yet, but... but I'm here, and the only person I know with a turtle contract in the human world -- while a very decent and honorable man -- is a bit strange. I fear what he would ask of us, if we were to ever come to him asking to use the turtle contract, so... since I was on this island, anyway... um..."

His eyes softening, the turtled crept forward. "I think I understand. This contract is no good, however, for your situation -- we will have to draw up another, entirely. And there will still have to be a deadline..."

* * *

"Why do we keep visiting the insects?" Chikan complained, shaking his head after Gamakichi made his latest suggestion of talking with the mosquito ninja. "I mean, I don't even _like_ bugs. You even took me to talk with the _spiders,_ and I was told before I got here that I didn't have a chance with them."

"Eh, I was hungry," Gamakichi explained. "The fly are a pretty tasty bunch, and I always like a chance to swallow a spider or two -- they're a real delicacy for us toads! Mosquitos can be pretty good eating, too, you know--"

"No. I don't know. I don't even _want_ to know," Chikan replied desperately. "Look, are you going to help me, or are you going to indulge in your snacking habits all day? And, by the way, it's probably not going to make my negotiations very easy if you _eat_ whatever it is I'm trying to make a contract with."

"Okay, okay," Gamakichi sighed. "Geez! Takes all the fun out of it for me. Okay, so what kind of creature are you looking for, anyway? Despite my, um, real reason for taking you to them, the insect species are incredibly useful. Several human clans have made contracts with them, and those clans generally turn out to be remarkably powerful."

"I just... look, it creeped me out when I saw Daichi-san's centipedes. I'm not likely to use a bug summoning if I'm scared of bugs, am I?" Chikan reasoned. "I'd prefer something... else."

"There's a lot more animals out there then 'not bugs,' kid. You need to be more specific."

"Well... I dunno. I don't know much about ninja animals -- that's why I asked you to be my guide," Chikan pointed out.

"You can at least cut it down more then 'no bugs,'" Gamakichi huffed. "All right, answer a few questions for me, and maybe we'll cut things down a bit. Which do you want more out of a trait with your familiars: Brute strength, speed, stealth, or intelligence?"

Chikan considered that question briefly. "Well... stealth won't be that big a factor. I'll probably never be enough of a powerhouse ninja that I'd be able to summon a creature as anything more then a desperation move, and by that point any stealth I might need would be gone."

"Hm, okay," Gamabunta said. "Shame, really -- I thought you might go for bats, but they're primarily used for stealth and intimidation when summoned, and as a last-ditch move you're probably too gone for the 'intimidation' factor to be important."

"Intelligence would be nice," Chikan said. "Being able to figure out how to get out of a bad situation would be key. Speed, too -- I'll want to be able to run away, if I have to. Strength... well, as long as whatever it is is strong enough to help me make my escape, that's all I need. So average strength, high intelligence, high speed, stealth... completely unimportant."

"Speed and high intelligence. Um, that's a bit of a rare combination, actually," Gamakichi pointed out. "Most species with that are the five great species. I _think_ we're all taken -- although the birds are getting pretty close to filling out their contract, if they haven't already. You wouldn't qualify for the birds, though -- they have certain standards then you don't match. How about the dogs?"

Chikan flushed. "There are a couple dog masters in Blossom, but... I can't use them. I'm, ah, allergic."

"Allergic?" Gamakichi repeated, sighing. "Then you're probably allergic to cats, too, right?"

"Um..."

"Thought so. Nothing too furry, then. Well, there may be one choice, however, that meets your needs..."

* * *

Umiko hugged the head of her new companion. She had always loved horses, and the idea of being able to summon one some day (although she had been warned that the foals she would initially manage wouldn't be too useable in battle) had filled her with a sense of great bliss -- the greatest joy, so far, of her entire experience as a ninja. She was so happy, in fact, that she almost missed what her new equine friend was telling her.

"...want a second partner who works well with us horses, I might suggest you approach the birds."

"I'm sorry, Shuuma," Umiko replied. "I missed some of that. What did you say?"

"We horses are usually partner animals -- meaning we allow, and even encourage, our masters to select a second animal to summon, as we tend to work well with them instead of oppose them. If you want a second partner who works well with us horses, I might suggest you approach the birds," Shuuma, the Lord of the Horses, explained. "I heard from the Great Eagle Lord, Shuwashi, yesterday, that the bird clan contract with the Tori clan in Rock country has been completely filled -- not all that unusual for them, since they seem to be completely filling one of those contracts every other year, nowadays. I sense in you the spirit which would attract the birds, so you probably could approach them now and recieve such a contract. I suspect they would approve, if for no other reason then to have an excuse to deny the Tori clan the next time they arrive. The birds only contract with females, as well, and your leader is already contracted to the toads. You are the only one of your companions who qualifies to recieve their boon, so I suggest you take it."

Umiko hesitated. "Sakura-sensei said that it wasn't a good idea to have more then one summoning contract... and I'm not exactly a powerhouse. Could I even manage one of the greater summons?"

"Your teacher speaks true -- without more knowledge then is typically available to humans, it isn't wise to sign more then one such contract. But you have my guidance, which means you will not be contracting with one of our enemies, which is the true danger of multiple contracts -- if you contract with our enemy, you become our enemy... which means you automatically make two enemies who you expect to be your ally. But horses and birds -- particularly eagles -- are great allies. And no bird will become your enemy, even if you were to sign such a contract with their enemies -- birds do not care who the enemy is or the ally is, they will do what they are required to do. That is why even in Konoha, whose greatest enemy has summoned birds for hundreds of years, will enlist birds in their messenger services -- not summoned birds, mind, but trained birds nonetheless." Shuuma paused. "I believe Konoha would consider you a heroine if you were to sign such a contract with the birds -- they have long desired to possess that contract."

"Fine," Umiko said. "Take me to this 'Great Eagle Lord.' I contracted with you so that I could call upon you when I needed help or guidance, and it appears as if you are giving me both already. I am still concerned about whether I have enough power, however, to really control such a contract... but I will accept it, if you think I do."

* * *

Butakatsu sat upon his trussed up conquest -- he'd literally hog-tied the hog he was told to wrestle, and was now merely awaiting the return of the High Hog to complete the contract signing, as they had already agreed upon. Movement out of the corner of his eye attracted his attention, but it was not a hog he saw -- it was another human. Or rather, four other humans, and he didn't recognize any of them. All were ninja -- the oldest obviously a jounin. The other three, who all appeared to be rookie genin like he was, consisted of one rather small boy and two girls. They wore he headband of the Rock, which immediately set him on his guard.

"Greetings," the jounin said. "I see from your forehead protector that you are from Konoha."

"Blossom, actually," Butakatsu corrected, slowly moving to reach for a kunai. There wasn't much he could do if they proved hostile -- and, from what he knew, Konoha and Rock were not exactly friends -- but he wouldn't go down without a fight. Hopefully, his origins in Wave country would lend a bit of neutrality to his status as a ninja. "We're a new ninja village, being developed in partnership with Konoha... although we will be recieving contributions from others, as well."

"We've heard of you," the jounin acknowledged, bowing his head briefly. "I am Tori Taka, and these three are my students -- Junko, Suzume, and Kojaku, all of my clan. You have nothing to fear from us, genin -- fighting between humans is forbidden in these lands."

The trussed up pig grunted in a way that made Butakatsu believe the man, but that didn't mean he trusted him to follow the rules. "Sure. So... why are you here?"

"We saw others were on this island, and were curious," Taka replied. "Obviously, you are not here alone, genin. Where are your companions?"

Butakatsu felt uncertain what he should answer. He actually didn't know where they were, so he could answer -- honestly -- and not give away anyone's position. On the other hand... well, who knew what would happen if he revealed he had no-one who could help him if he needed it. There was Kyokuchisaki, the High Hog, who might decide to rescue him if things came to blows... but, until that contract was signed, there was no way to be certain. Perhaps, however, he could pretend he was just being discrete...

"They're somewhere around here," he said as casually as he could, hoping they would believe he just wasn't answering. "What concern is it of yours?"

"It's unlikely it will be of any," Taka admitted. "Blossom, as a new ninja village, likely has no talents who could acquire it, but we are seeking to renew our contract with the birds, as our clan has since the start of its recorded history. Truthfully, only Junko-chan and Suzume-chan can accept it from our team, but I am determined to acquire it."

"I wouldn't worry," Butakatsu replied, deciding he could perhaps reveal a tiny bit of information to get out of this alive without compromising his teammates. "Our jounin-sensei cannot contract with the birds due to a prior contract, and the only other girl on our team is too obsessed with horses to contract with anything else."

A small flicker of something showed in Taka's eyes before he settled down and nodded. "Very well. We shall leave you in peace, genin. I hope to see you again... in peaceful circumstances, of course."

"Of course," Butakatsu agreed, swallowing nervously. That sounded a bit like a vieled threat, but there wasn't anything inherantly hostile in the words at least. "And I, you."

Taka frowned, but then shook his head. "Farewell." With a quick motion, he and his team vanished in puffs of smoke.

Butakatsu breathed a deep sigh of relief. He'd gotten out of that, somehow, and -- he hoped -- not done anyone any major damage. He still wanted to be done with this quickly, however. "Kyukuchisaki... where the hell are you? I want to get out of here."

* * *

As a ninja, Sakura knew almost a hundred ways to check the time without a watch. There was the position of the sun in the sky, the length and direction of shadows, mental 'dead reckoning,' the amount of due on the grass, and many more. She had used all of them over the past hour or so, just to make sure, and was now resorting to the watch after all. Every source of telling time let her know the same thing: Her genin were late. Over two hours late, now. She had already seen evidence of other ninja landing at the docks, and so she was growing increasingly worried. The animals here would prevent humans from battling other humans on this island, so they hadn't gotten into any battles against enemy forces... but that didn't tell her anything about what might have happened to her genin. Where were they?

"Sakura-sensei!" A voice called. It was Hiniku Butakatsu -- her least favorite of the team assigned to her, yes, but she was glad to see him anyway.

"Over here! Why are you so late? Report!"

"The High Hog was running a mission for his ally, the horses," Butakatsu explained in a rushed, though competently businesslike, tone. "So he was late returning to give me my contract. I have important news, however -- there is a team of Rock nin here."

Sakura stiffened. "They're from Rock? Hell. The others aren't here yet, but the moment they return we leave. No stopping to talk. Now... since they aren't here yet, we do have some time. How did it go?"

"Not too hard. I could have fulfilled the requirements for obtaining this contract before I even entered the Academy, actually."

Sakura grinned darkly. "Getting the contract is always the easy part. Being able to use it, however, is another matter entirely."

Butakatsu snorted. "Yeah, yeah -- heard it before. May be true, but I wonder if maybe I shouldn't have tried for this contract before attending the Academy. Then I would have been able to work on it for the whole year."

"You would have been too busy," Sakura pointed out. "Until about a month ago, any attempt to perform this technique would have completely wiped out your chakra, and likely knocked you unconscious for about a week. Now... well, you've got enough chakra to practice it maybe once a day -- provided you aren't planning to do much else that day -- without wiping yourself out. If you'd tried practicing it during that 'whole year,' you would have lost valuable time training, and never would have graduated."

Butakatsu looked slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered his casual air. "Well, whatever. Where are the others, anyway? I know I was two hours late."

She looked to one of the frogs that was waiting in the clearing to take them all back to the dock. "Excuse me, sir," she said to... him, she supposed. It could have been a her, but Sakura wasn't really sure how to tell the males and females apart. "But... would you happen to know where the rest of our team is?"

The frog rolled an eye over at her, looking her up and down suspiciously. "No. But I know where Gamakichi, who accompanied one of your students, is."

"Please, where is he?"

"About two minutes from here, to the east," the frog answered. "Moving slowly, but moving."

"Thank you, sir," she said, bowing politely.

"You may be a slug master," the frog replied, "But you are mate to a toad master. While I cannot bring myself to follow your orders or to help you in most endeavors, I will protect your life for his sake. Hearing that the Tori clan is present, I know there is some risk to your life... for they are a treacherous clan -- so treacherous, even the birds aren't comfortable serving them any more despite centuries of history in thier service. I understand they have asked their allies to try and help them out of their contracts, but they are obligated by an unbreakable tradition to give their contracts to the first female to arrive who qualifies and can pass their test. Once they have that contract, however... you and your team will be in danger, for even if they don't attack you on this island they easily could at sea. So, I feel informing you of the likely location of your student to be a matter of protecting your life."

Sakura wasn't sure how to take that, but she kept her astonishment in. Nodding her head politely, she replied, "Thank you, sir. I will note your kindness to... um, my, uh, mate." For the first time, she faltered while talking to the frog, but recovered quickly.

"Not necessary, my lady," the frog replied, bowing his head back. "Your protection, as a human, would be our responsibility while you are on this island regardless. That you are mate to a toad master only makes me more willing to do what I am already obligated to do."

"Still, I thank you."

Gamakichi suddenly hopped on top of the other frog's head. "Yo," he said in greeting.

Sakura's eye twitched. "Er, yo. Tell my, Gamakichi-san, where is my student?"

The little toad snickered. "Well, he's now a dual summoner -- one of the first to appear in over a hundred years. See, there was only one animal which matched what he needed... and that was the dolphin."

Sakura blinked. "Dolphin? A... sea mammal? But... he gets seasick if the_ dock_ is rocking too much, and that's not an exageration. How did he get stuck with a sea mammal?"

"Allergies," Gamakichi laughed. "So, he got the contract with the dolphins done, but then he complained that they were utterly useless for his career. So, I took him to the only land creature who happened to be allied to the dolphins and who wouldn't bother his allergies... although only because the allergens would be too covered in dirt. He has a second contract... with the moles."

A rumbling from underground in the center of their clearing signalled the arrival of the second genin. Covered in mud from head to toe, and accompanied by mud and fur covered rodent of some sort, Chikan pulled himself out from a hole. "Hi. I'm guessing Gamakichi has already explained?"

Sakura snorted. "Dolphins? Really, Chikan, you should have just gone to the moles from the start!"

"Well, I was just following my 'guide' to the animals he thought I could contract with. After rejections by several bugs -- possibly because he was _eating_ the people I was negotiating with -- we finally got down to business. I'm not sure I would have picked them on my own, though," Chikan sighed. "But the moles are... okay. I can travel in secret, with them."

Sakura shook her head. "It will have to do. Now... all we need to do is wait for Umino-san."

"Who's here!" called the aforementioned girl, riding in on a horse. "Sorry for being late, but Shuuma, here, suggested I go for a second summon contract."

Sakura knew they had to leave right away, but her curiousity wouldn't let her continue until she found out. "Horses and... what?"

She grinned. "You'll never guess..."

"We don't have time to guess," Sakura snapped. "What is it?"

"Why, the birds!" Umino cackled. "The last contract was full, as it turns out, and I showed up at just the right time... and it turns out that horses prefer I find a second contract to go with--"

Sakura's eyes widened. When the Rock nin who were on the island found out, there was no telling what they would do. "Explain later! Hurry, people, to the toads -- we have to get back to the dock, now!"

"Why?" Umino asked, suddenly concerned. "What's going on?"

Sakura turned to her, grimmacing. "The human ninja clan which has held the contract you just obtained as far back as anyone can remember are here to renew it... and you just took it out from under them. When they find out..."

Shuuma, without even waiting for Ran Umino's direction, started running already. The frogs didn't wait, either -- they quickly grabbed Sakura and the other two genin, and started moving.

"I thought you weren't supposed to let a slug master like me ride you," Sakura said, once she'd found her balance on her new mount's head -- the frog she had been talking to earlier.

"My lady... I meant what I said about your protection being that important to us," he said. "This has happened once before. The humans involved... well, let's just say that their deaths were the cause of our forbidding humans to fight while on this island."

Sakura swallowed. "I... thank you, again, sir."

"My lady... this is a matter of survival. No thanks are necessary."

* * *

Notes: Name translations! Tori is bird. Taka is hawk. Junko... well, I don't know if that is really the Japanese for it or not, but we have a lot of junko birds that peruse our birdfeeder in these winter months. Suzume and Kojaku are both different words for sparrow. Shuuma is a composite of two words -- lord and horse. Shuwashi is also a composite of lord and eagle. Kyokuchisaki is two words --big (kyo) snout (kuchisaki). And... I think that's it. Again, I may be misusing these words, as I'm pulling them from an on-line Japanese-english dictionary, but I don't think it should matter considering they're just names. Don't rely on me to teach you Japanese -- I know some, having studied the language a bit, off and on, over the years, but I've never mastered it to a functional level and my vocabulary is... very limited.

Major hints for Volume 4 in this volume. For the record, the team from Rock won't be back until then. Everyone else, however, will be around for a while.

Next Chapter: Naruto's turn.


	53. V3 Chapter 43

Volume 3

Notes: Merry Christmas, everybody. As a present, here's another chapter to read. Nothing especially Christmas-themed about it, but I figure you all will enjoy it anyway. Posted a couple hours earlier in the day so I can get to sleep a bit early. Not much else to say, this time --outside of no-one's guessed the team make-ups yet. Ah, well -- enjoy the fic.

* * *

Chapter 43 

Naruto took the intelligence report from his spy inside of the administration building. He was very distracted, thanks to the disaster which had been the first day of his training his team, but he remembered to thank the boy before he left. It was possible, with a bit of work, that his trio of genin could master elemental techniques. He didn't think it was possible, though, for any of them to become ninja -- not if the terrible performance sparring he saw that morning was any indication. To make matters worse, he had to head home knowing that Sakura was on a boat to... well, he didn't really know where, but she wouldn't be home -- that was for sure.

His pace home was tired and slow. He was feeling bored -- very bored -- and cranky, and frustrated, and... and any number of other things which could usually be solved just by seeing Sakura's smiling face. With a sigh, he entered his apartment and closed the door behind himself. He fixed himself dinner (cup ramen, since he wasn't really feeling up to the trouble of fixing the higher-quality ramen Sakura had started keeping around for him, that required several extra steps to prepare) and sat down to eat.

It was then he felt the twinge which indicated Sakura was burning chakra. A considerable amount of chakra, in fact, but not so much that she seemed to be in any danger. Still...

_Hey, fox,_ the boy thought, approaching the kyuubi inside his mind. _What's going on?_

_Nothing much, brat,_ the fox replied. _One of her genin is sea sick, and she's trying to help him. I think she's a bit frustrated, because he just threw up on her._

_Oh, poor Sakura-chan!_ he thought. _Hey... you think there's anything we can do to help her? You know, boost her chakra or something like that._

_And what would she use that extra chakra for -- removing the stains from her clothes? _Kyuubi thought back sarcastically. _That would be useless, idiot child, but perhaps we could help her on her mission. She's on her way to the island where all of the creatures ninja can summon hold their embassies to the humans -- she wants to get some fresh new contracts, and that's about the only place to get them. Maybe you could ask your pet frogs to help her?_

_Hm... yeah, maybe I'll do that after dinner!_ Naruto mused. _Thanks, fox._

_Whatever, brat. She's my mate, too, now, so of course I'd help her if I could. _You, _on the other hand..._

Naruto laughed, knowing how empty a threat that was, now. For once, he felt cheered up by the kyuubi, and decided to move on to the reports on his table as he ate. After reading through a few dry economic forecasts which amounted to little new information, if any, he didn't already know and make provisions for should Kakashi fail to act upon them -- although, since returning to Blossom, the jounin-oyabun's economic plans had bordered on brilliant. It lead Naruto to have a few suspicions, but however much he felt 'on the outs' with his former sensei, at the moment, he still wouldn't believe that those suspicions could possibly be true.

The first page of the 'Shared Intelligence' packet, however, stunned him cold. Shared Intelligence was that information shared by Konoha and Blossom's allies, including Sand, Waterfall, Rain, and now the Rainbow. None of those ninja villages could keep an eye on the entire world on their own, and so they needed to rely on one another for the information on certain regions... and the report of the Sand, which covered much of Wind country in addition to several smaller border nations, proved to be very interesting, indeed...

There was a lot of confusion, and obviously the report had been heavily redacted to protect Sand's internal security, but the important details came through loud and clear. A Sand jounin, Baki -- the man who had been in command of Gaara's own team when he was a genin -- was assassinated. The attacker was quickly identified as a missing nin out of Konoha by way of Blossom -- Uzuki Yuugao. She had the support of another missing nin who Naruto knew very well -- Uchiha Sasuke. Baki was the only one killed, although there were many people injured as Yuugao and Sasuke made their escape. No amount of tracking helped them to find the target, however they had backtracked his movements fairly well.

Akatsuki had taken a large blow. As a secret organization, few of the members were known, but two of the three known members had been found dead -- Deidara, whose head was taken off of his body and put on a clay statue, apparently as a sick joke, and Kisame, his samehada sword run through his own gut. Others had been identified as support personnel, lower-ranking Akatsuki members, and others. The brutality of the attack was... horrible, even knowing that the Akatsuki probably deserved it. Even a hardened ninja could be sickened, one report said, by what was found in that building. Itachi, apparently, had escaped.

A knocking on Naruto's door brought him out of the report. "Naruto-sama," the voice of a civilian messenger in the administration's service called. "Kakashi-sama is requesting your presence. He says he has important news."

Naruto stared at the classified report he had been reading, eyes wide. "I'll bet..."

* * *

"Look, you might want to learn fire-based techniques, but I don't know any! Well, I know one, but all it's useful for is making campfires -- I can teach you some really cool earth-based techniques, and some decent water-based techniques... I could even set you on the right track towards some wind-based techniques, if you _really_ want. But fire?" Naruto shook his head. "I learned everything I could to _counter_ fire-based techniques, not to use them. So why are you being so obstinate about this?" 

Hiyowai Shiro, the genin who had drawn the straw that gave him the morning session of individual lessons with him, sniffled a bit before he replied. "I want to learn how to make a campfire. I don't do well with the cold, and both earth and water techniques sound... cold to me."

"But you need these elemental techniques in order to fight as a ninja, not to make a camp," Naruto explained. "There are other ways to make a campfire, you know."

Shiro shrugged. "Give me a campfire, and I'll be able to do a lot."

Naruto shook his head. "Fine. I'll teach you the one fire technique I know. You'll have to build it up from there, however -- I'll do whatever I can to help you, but if you continue to pursue fire techniques there's not much I can do. But I'm going to insist you learn at least one technique I can actually help you with -- got it?"

"If I must have another, then I want a wind based technique. Wind and fire should work well together," Shiro replied.

Naruto almost complained, again, because his wind skills were fairly limited as well, but in the end he sighed and just shook his head. He was tired of this argument, which had been going on for three days, and he'd at least managed the one concession. "I'm working for three hours each with all of you who've been given to me to train for intense training, before the one hour group session in the evening. It'll get pretty boring, though, considering the limited number of techniques I can teach you that you're willing to learn. We'll just be drilling those until you get them perfect... and I'm not sure I'm willing to get that bored. So, how about we spend half of each session giving you physical training, huh? All three of you could use it, and I have time to help you with that."

Shiro grinned ruefully. "Sorry for being so complicated, but I _really_ don't want to work with either water or earth techniques. Sure, physical training sounds fine. And you're right -- all three of us could use it. You might want to make the same offer to Kasuka-san and Rouhi-san."

"Well, you're all getting some special physical training -- I don't think you'll manage it as ninja, otherwise -- but how much depends on how many elemental techniques I can work with you on."

Shiro smirked slightly, although on his sickly face it didn't look very pleasant. "Looks like I made the right choices, then -- I think if I learn the techniques you teach me very well and build myself up physically, the quality of my techniques will outwiegh the quantity the others will probably learn."

Naruto stiffened. Over all his time training and preparing to battle Sasuke, he knew he would never match the quantity of techniques any sharingan user could master. He had chosen, long ago, to rely on quality, instead. Shiro's declaration reminded him of that decision at a time when Sasuke was very much on Naruto's mind. "Yes... quality over quantity." Then he shook his head. "Then again, none of the techniques you're asking me to teach you are exactly high-quality elemental techniques."

"So? I'll innovate," Shiro shot back. "A match isn't exactly a powerful weapon. Neither is a can of spray oil. Together, you can make an improvised flame thrower..."

Naruto smirked. "A ninja thinks underneath the underneath -- that's the first thing Kakashi-sensei told me as a genin. Yes, I suppose even a campfire could be useful in ninja combat, if you use it just right... and maybe we can experiment to see if we can improve that technique, huh?"

* * *

"Better, Rouhi, better," Naruto said. Kainashi Rouhi was, in fact, the best elemental user of Naruto's training team. He'd done remarkably well in picking up the water techniques Naruto had taught him, and was surprisingly adept at pulling them out quickly when needed. He did have a problem, though, with his water clones -- they all looked thinner, paler, and weaker then they should have... but now, they seemed to be working. "That's enough technique work for today. Time to move on to physical training. How's your leg rehabilitation coming?" 

"Okay," Rouhi replied uncertainly. "It's healed just fine, but it tires too quickly for me to say it's really doing well. I've found I... don't react well to medical ninjitsu, unfortunately -- while my bones knitted together quickly enough, my muscles got weaker very quickly. After several recent 'therapy' sessions, we've determined that I... should avoid the accelerated healing of medical ninjitsu from most injuries, since that seems to cause my muscle mass to atrophy. I'm told it's not unheard of, although it is incredibly rare. It's something like a 'reverse bloodline ability,' or something like that, but it isn't necessarily genetic -- meaning there's a good chance my children won't have the same problem, thank goodness."

Naruto winced. "Right. Well... that might make sending you out on missions rather... hazardous."

Rouhi sighed. "I know. I figure this training is going to be a bit of a useless waste, because I'm almost certainly going to be shifted into administrative work for medical reasons. I'd like to learn enough, though, so that if I'm called upon to act in the admin ninja's capacity as a reserve force, I can excel... and, perhaps, if I know elemental techniques well enough, I'll be able to form a 'ninja clan' with my children some day and have something to pass down to them."

Naruto grinned slightly. "Clans are a bit overrated -- family is the important thing. Pass it down to your kids, yes, but don't go thinking up all that 'clan' garbage. That's why Konoha's in such big trouble, right now -- too many people who are clan-oriented all trying to control things, and no-one strong enough to know some sense into their heads either."

"Yeah, you've said that before. I don't really think the flaw is the clan system, though," Rouhi mused. "The flaw is the clans themselves -- they're all to isolated from one another. A clan needs to be willing to intermarry with other clans, to adopt orphans, to teach the clanless, and to work with other clans. In Konoha... that has all disappeared. I'll bet there's never been, say, an Inuzuka who's learned the Yamanaka clan's techniques, or visa versa, as well as their own... but there should be."

"Not necessarily," Naruto said. "The Hyuuga have serious problems due to their isolation, but intermarriage might not be the cure. In fact, Sakura-chan seems to think them intermarrying with other major bloodlines could cause their descendents to go insane. And, well, there's no way to remove the clan system in Konoha any more. We'll work out some sort of clan structures here in Blossom, too, but... they won't be quite the same. Clans won't inherit government positions they might not be entitled to, their principle purpose will be for education, inter-clan squabbles will be forbidden by law -- which may not really stop them, but should at least keep them less obvious and therefore less likely to involve the entire village like the current Hyuuga civil war does -- and we will have an organized structure in place for the clanless. It might not be perfect, but at least with those reforms we might avoid the problems Konoha's been having lately. A big part of the problem is the belief that some clans are better then others, and the inability to create new clans -- the clanless and intermarried clans could both make new clans, if it were allowed in Konoha."

"Still," Rouhi replied. "I'd like to be known as a clan founder -- to have children to pass a legacy down to and everything."

Naruto smiled wistfully. "Yeah... having a family sounds... nice. I think I want children, too."

"And make your own clan, perhaps?" Rouhi asked.

Naruto paused, considering. "Well... perhaps..."

* * *

It was the end of the three hour session with his last student that day, Yowamushi Kasuka, and Naruto wasn't quite sure what to say. His physical training skills were excellent -- not on the level of Gai or Lee (although, perhaps if he was pushed properly, he could get there), but to a degree that he would be a pretty good ninja... if he could execute any ninja techniques successfully. He seemed to know them, and could perform the physical motions successfully, but they weren't really coming out. He wasn't like Lee -- he had the _potential_ to perform ninja techniques -- but he just wasn't succeeding. 

"You've got a number of problems," Naruto finally said in his final evaluation. "To begin with, you're a combination of bad traits. In all of Konoha, I probably graduated with the worst chakra control around, but the greatest chakra stamina. Sakura-chan, on the other hand, was the opposite -- she had the best chakra-control in the history of the Academy, but the worst stamina. Someone who could combine her control with my stamina could be a more powerful warrior then... then, say, the strongest of the greater demons."

_Yeah, right,_ Kyuubi thought. _Nothing's more powerful then I am..._

"You, on the other hand... have Sakura-chan's stamina and my control. I know you've got the academic background for ninja work, but... you don't really seem to have many of the other traits required," Naruto finally said. "You need a lot of work... and I'm probably not the best person to teach you what you need to know. Not really."

Yowamushi Kasuka, who was really a bit of a loner only known for having graduated almost entirely due to his academics (although he managed to -- barely -- perform a passable bushin no jutsu during his final exam, proving he wasn't entirely without talent), gaped at him. "But... but you're Uzumaki Naruto-sama! Not just the legendary ninja who saved Wave Country--"

Naruto winced. He didn't exactly like how his reputation was in Wave country -- he still hadn't gotten used to the hero worship, and still felt like it was almost as bad as when he was universally hated in Konoha. "I hardly deserved 'legendary' status back then."

"--but you're the man who wiped out a village full of Grass ninja single-handedly, who took down the infamous assassin, Gashir, and who just spent a year teaching me and the other students just about everything we know about ninjitsu! You... you have to teach me!"

Naruto was reminded of his own pleas, trying to pry some training from the hands of his own jounin-sensei, Kakashi... although he wasn't quite as scary about it, he hoped. In his own case, it turned out to be a good thing he didn't get that training -- after all, he wouldn't have met Jiraiya if he hadn't -- but it could have turned out fairly disastrous if not for a series of remarkable coincidences which lead him into the care of one of the sannin. Perhaps, though, he understood his former teacher just a little better -- it was unlikely that if he pawned this student off on someone else, he would turn out as good, but Naruto wasn't sure what would happen if he did. Jiraiya wasn't likely to take up another apprentice any time soon, and there weren't exactly any 'good fits' in Blossom to teach the boy what he really needed to know. The problem was, Naruto wasn't exactly a 'good fit,' either, and the closest two people he could think of were Sakura -- who was currently, according to kyuubi, a day away from the island she had set out towards -- and Ebisu, who was too busy to teach anyone anything at the moment as he was currently leading one of Blossom's first true B-class missions, now that they had the personnel to manage it from time to time.

Besides... he knew what it felt like to be foisted off on another teacher as if he was little more than a bother. "I'll teach you," Naruto finally said. "But, like I said, I'm not really the person who best knows what you need to know. But let's see what we can do, huh?"

"Thank you, Naruto-sensei!" Kasuka replied, speaking a bit louder then he needed to. "Um, so... how do I correct my problems?"

Naruto shook his head uncertainly. "I'm not sure. See, I eventually managed to correct my control problem through a series of exercises that eventually lead to one of my more powerful techniques -- the rasengan. That is a technique that requires I have 100 control of my chakra, and that... was very hard for me to figure out. The person who originally created the technique spend three years on it. I only took a few weeks to get it working, but it took me years to perfect it. Ero-sennin never said how long it took him to master the technique, but I gather it was about a year, himself. The thing is... learning the technique, even just to get through the part that teaches you control, requires more chakra than you'll probably ever have."

Kasuka looked down, sighing. "So, I'm hopeless?"

"No, I wouldn't say that," Naruto replied. "But it's going to be very hard. I know a few training techniques which should help -- tree climbing and water walking -- but, well, it'll take a while for you to learn even those. You really should have gone for the taijutsu specialty -- elemental techniques are a bit beyond you at this stage of your development."

"Taijutsu isn't enough," Kasuka replied. "How can you be a ninja without knowing, well, ninja techniques?"

Naruto smirked briefly. "I really need to introduce you to a ninja by the name of Rock Lee. One of the best ninja I know, and he can't perform a single true ninja technique... but, okay. So you think you need to know elemental techniques to be a good ninja -- I can respect that. Don't really agree with you, but I can respect it. But we're going to really work on your taijutsu, too, because it'll take years of work for you to build up the chakra capacity for your elemental techniques to be really usable, and you're going to need something in the meantime..."

* * *

Naruto grinned at his three students. It was the last day of their two week training period -- in fact, it was the last hour, since they had already had their three hour individual sessions that day. He was proud of them all -- he would gladly have any of them on his team, and was hoping they would continue to work on thier ninjitsu regardless of whether they made it into one of the three permanent teams or whether they were shunted into administrative positions... and he would encourage all three of them to do so, as long as he was still in Blossom. 

"You've all done well," Naruto said, opening the session. "Very well. And now, it's time to see just how well you all have gotten..."

"Yes, sensei?" Yowamushi Kasuka asked enthusiastically. Well, there was one thing Naruto wasn't exactly happy with -- Kasuka turned out to be a bit... overenthusiastic, sometimes, with his hero-worship. Well, at least it seemed to hide itself when he was actively training.

"It's a bit of a tradition," Naruto eventually said, deciding to ignore Kasuka for now. "For Konoha ninja to undergo something known as a 'bell test,' or its equivalent. Chances are, with the way we're doing things this round in Blossom, your final teams won't be taking the bell test... but I think maybe I'll let the bunch of you try it, just to see how you would do." He held up a couple small bells with a grin and jingled them. "Now, I'm going to tie these to my belt. Your job will be to try to take them from me. There are two bells and three of you, so guess how many of you can pass?"

The trio of new genin looked at each other in disbelief. "But, sensei!" Kasuka cried. "You're _the _Naruto! How in the world are we going to be able to beat you?"

Naruto winced, but nodded as he set up a one-hour timer. "Well, I'll be limiting myself... a bit. You still need to figure out the trick to beat me, though -- there is a trick to it, after all. My own team managed to pass the test without getting the bells, simply because we were able to demonstrate we'd figured out the trick... but all you really need to do is get the bells."

Shiro sniffled. "I hope this doesn't take too long -- it's cold out here, and I'm not exactly at my best in this cold."

Naruto laughed. Shiro was always talking about the cold and the weather, how he hated getting wet and hated getting muddy. How his health was always terrible... but, as Naruto was quick to learn, his ailments were not truly debilitating and his complaints were all for show. In essence, he'd been using his natural sickly palour to help him skip classes for a full year, now, and a village full of ninja were fooled by him.

"Well, there is a time limit, of course," Naruto pointed out. "When I took the test, I had three hours. You all have just one, though... so make the most of it. Begin."

In the split second it took him to start the clock, all three had hid themselves. Naruto glanced around, both pleased and disappointed -- he was glad to see that they had all managed to conceal themselves fairly well (although he suspected, had he really tried hard, he could have found them all easily enough), but disappointed that none of them had pursued his angle of winning the bell test: Direct confrontation of the examiner. Considering their lack of time, it would probably be a good idea for them to do so, but it seemed they weren't going to attempt it. Not that way, at least.

_Hmm, what I really need is a book, like Kakashi-sensei, to provoke them into attacking. Probably wouldn't do for it to be ecchi, though -- Sakura-chan wouldn't like that, _He thought. "You all can hide all you want," he called. "Just remember this test is over in an hour." With that, he yawned widely, stretching to present the appearance of leaving a number of openings. No-one bit on that little farce, however, so he walked over to a tree and sat down. "If none of you are going to take the opportunities I hand out to you, I'm just going to take a nap."

Naruto closed his eyes, and grinned slightly as he felt three sets of shuriken approaching from three different direction all in the same moment. Grabbing a nearby log, he performed a quick kawarimi no jutsu, allowing the shuriken to hit his transformed replacement as he identified the hiding place of each genin. With a quick tuck and roll, he went after the person he'd identified as the most talented of the trio, Rouhi, and leapt at him with a quick flying kick. Rouhi managed to dodge out of the way, and backed off further then he should have. That tipped Naruto off that something was up right before the genin pulled a wire that would have snagged a bell right off his belt, had he not realized something was happening soon enough. Another roll helped him to avoid the problem, as he sent a kunai Rouhi's way.

"Come on," he heard Shiro call. "None of us can beat him alone -- let's triple team him."

Naruto grinned. Well, one of them got it -- would the others follow suit?

The battle continued on, as the three indeed co-operated under Shiro's leadership for quite some time. Seconds before the hour was up, and therefore the battle was over, Naruto decided to award the boy for the proper guess. He quickly -- before any of them noticed it -- pulled one of the bells off of his belt, himself. Glancing at the timer from time to time to make sure he was doing everything precisely right, he waited until there were only two seconds left... and then tossed the bell to hook on Shiro's clothes.

"Shiro got it, first, and so deserves the reward," Naruto called the moment the timer went off. "But you all pass."

"Does that mean we'll all be active genin?" Shiro asked.

Naruto hesitated. "Not... necessarily."

* * *

Notes: It was a bit hard to write a chapter dealing with Naruto teaching the genin everything they would know without showing what, exactly, they would know, but I think it worked out in the end. How competent each of these three are is something to be revealed... later. 

Next Chapter: The conclusion of the arc, as the genin are evaluated and the permanent teams are assigned. If you have any guesses as to the make-up of the teams, this is your last chance to make them...


	54. V3 Chapter 44

Volume 3

Notes: I think I pass 300,000 words by ffnet's accounting with this chapter. That, of course, includes the author's notes, which probably comprise something of 10 to 20 percent of the text... which still leaves, at worst, a fairly impressive 240,000 words, minimum. Pretty soon, this fic is actually going to be longer then everything else I've ever written, put together... ack!

Finally, one of my 'guess what's coming next' questions actually fooled everybody. Actually, some people don't even seem to have gathered what, exactly, I was asking, and I think my 'clues' may have simply added to the confusion -- I mean, I figured that most of the guessers would get one of the teams, at least, but I think my clues may have hurt more then helped in that regard. Ah, well -- here you are, the final answers. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 44

Naruto whistled to himself as he walked along the roads back to his apartment, tossing the unclaimed bell up and catching it as he went. Finally, training was done, and tomorrow he would have his very own team to take with him on missions. True, he'd have to get them some D-rank missions at first, just to get them some experience, but he felt confident he could whip them up into shape to go on C-class missions, at least, in only a few weeks time. It was his intention to have them ready for the chuunin exam by the time they were eligible, and so he was certainly going to lobby for them to go on harder missions sooner, rather then later. Of course, part of that would have to deal with whether or not his team was actually any good, but he suspected they would be. His own students started out at less-then-promising levels, but turned out pretty good... and maybe he'd have one of them under his command.

He had been feeling especially good that day. There had been a lot of things over the past two weeks which had been hanging in his mind, but for some reason he felt as if it would all be better around lunchtime that day. He didn't know what had caused him to feel that way, but he certainly wasn't going to complain.

He opened his door without thinking, not even noticing that he didn't have to unlock it as he did, and stepped on inside. It wasn't until he looked up from checking to see if any messages from his sources in the Administrative Building had, as per usual, stuck any notes under the door (truthfully, Naruto felt that such a simple technique wasn't exactly up to the level expected of a ninja for communicating with his spies, but he did have to remind himself that his sources _weren't_ ninja, and therefore couldn't be expected to use ninjitsu to conceal their dead drops), that he saw he wasn't alone in his apartment.

"Sakura-chan!" he cried, spying the pink-haired girl he knew and loved... and thought was still at sea, making her return trip from some island in the middle of nowhere. "You're back!"

She turned to see him, her face lighting up. "Naruto-kun! I--"

Whatever she was about to say was quickly prevented by his lips colliding with hers as Naruto seemed to almost be trying to swallow her mouth with the passion of his kiss. At first, she resisted -- albeit slightly -- before giving in and wrapping her own arms around him. Their arms started exploring, and Naruto's slowly descended to clench her derriere through the cloth of her shorts. A few fingers had started slipping up under her shirt on the return trip when a throat cleared from the direction of the kitchen.

"Um, do you want us to go?" Ino asked, lips twitching as Futaba faked a cough to cover her laughter. Hanabi, the last person in the room, merely looked on stoically... although there may have been a suspicious twinkle in her eye as well. "Because, as glad as we all are that you're back, Sakura-chan, we don't really want to be here when your first child is concieved. At least, I don't... and I don't think you should be corrupting young eyes with that kind of image, either."

Naruto and Sakura broke apart, both blushing. Naruto's blush was slight, and there was more pride then embarrasment on his face, but it was there. Sakura's was more pronounced, and betrayed the guilt she felt for having forgotten her guests, but she didn't exactly pull too far away from Naruto as she turned -- in his arms -- to face the trio of smiling girls.

"I... don't think that's necessary," Sakura answered. "That was just a 'welcome home,' and we can... continue where we left off, later."

Ino lead the laughter that followed that statement, shaking her head. "Hey, we're just here to talk about our students -- we're supposed to give a final report, tomorrow, so we'll be going over all that tomorrow, anyway. Your 'welcome home' can continue in peace."

Naruto coughed, coming to his senses. "There are a few other things we need to talk about, too, Sakura-chan, and we should probably talk about them in private."

Sakura blinked up at him. "Anything pressing?"

Naruto hesitated. "Well... it could wait if a more pressing emergency came along, but... it's rather important."

Seeing how serious he was, Sakura nodded. "Okay. I guess our little gossip session will have to wait, girls -- sorry."

Ino, sensing the change in mood, nodded. "Of course. Come along, girls -- we'd better leave them to talk."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's _all_ they'll be doing," Futaba snickered suggestively.

"Maybe, maybe not," Ino replied, nodding to Sakura. "But I think we should leave them, anyway."

"Yes, Ino-san," Futaba agreed, chastized. "Thank you for inviting us, Sakura-chan. Dinner was good."

"You're welcome, Futaba-chan. We'll see you tomorrow." Sakura ushered Ino and the two young chuunin out the door before closing it and locking the door. She spun around and raised an eyebrow on Naruto. "And if you think we're just going to 'talk,' well, let me change your mind, okay?"

Naruto smiled slightly, but that smile dropped fairly quickly. "I got word, just after you left, from one of my agents inside the Administration. We've gotten... news, from Konoha."

"We often get news from Konoha," Sakura pointed out. "What's so important about it, this time?"

"It's actually from the Sand," Naruto continued. "Where they've sighted Sasuke, and--"

"Stop!" the pink-haired young woman commanded, her finger rapidly covering his lips in a silencing gesture. "I don't want to hear it!"

Naruto looked momentarily distressed. "But--"

"Is he coming here?" Sakura asked, glaring at him.

Naruto shook his head. "We don't know, yet, but--"

"Is his insanity cured?"

"No, but--"

"Then I don't want to hear it. For good or ill, I've decided that Sasuke's role in my life is over. I no longer want to concern myself with him, since he's too far gone to be the Sasuke that I knew -- or that you knew. Unless his insanity is cured, he is all but a shell using Sasuke-kun's body, and I don't want to worry myself over that. If his insanity is ever cured, maybe then I'll want to be his friend again -- for your sake, as much as mine, since I know he was probably, in truth, closer to you then he ever was to me. But there is nothing I can do to heal him that won't result in my betraying you, and I will never do that." She smiled at him fiercely. "I love you, Naruto-kun, and I will not throw that away for him. Not any more."

Naruto hesitated, then finally nodded. "Okay, Sakura-chan. But if you ever change your mind, let me know -- this was pretty big news."

Sakura's smile softened into a slightly more humorous one. "Now... how about we continue that 'welcome home,' huh?"

* * *

Sakura glanced around the room, her eyes lighting on Naruto after a moment's search. She felt herself blush, and hoped it wasn't too apparent -- things had gotten a bit heated, again, during her 'welcome home' celebration. It had taken all of her effort to pull away from him that night, to sleep in a seperate bed... but she knew it wasn't time yet. Soon, she thought. Soon, it'll be safe. And then...

Across the room, as if attracted by her deepening blush, Naruto looked up to meet her gaze. His cocky grin quickly broke the spell, and Sakura was able to bring her attention back to the matter at hand -- namely, the evaluation meeting.

"I've got all your written reports, here," Kakashi said, tapping the top of a stack of papers on his desk. "But let me have some verbal summaries. Shizune-san?"

Shizune nodded. "As I expected, all three of my students will still need considerable training to become effective as ninja. Instead of shunting them into administrative classes, however, I recommend we establish a medical college here in Blossom for medical ninjitsu. As a matter of fact, I require it -- Tsunade-sama said that while certain aspects of Konoha culture, including the clan system, make forming a medical college... difficult, if not impossible, it would be easier to manage here in Blossom, where clans will not be 'offended' that their children aren't considered ready for ninja duties at their earliest possible date. It's rare enough to find someone well qualified to become a medical ninja, and when ninety percent of those people are prevented from even considering that field by their families, well, it gets pretty hard to establish a medical college. A college system, furthermore, should be more effective and efficient then the current apprenticeship system."

Kakashi nodded. "Very well, Shizune-san. Please contact Haruno-san at the Academy to arrange for the facilities and resources you need, and go through the hospital administration for whatever requisitions of medical supplies that you require. Next, I'd like to hear from Futaba-chan."

"None of my students should qualify for permanent teams," Futaba replied, shaking her head. "I'm a bit reluctant to have them appear on our rosters as administrative ninja, either. They learned nothing I tried to teach them, their academic record was poor, and their ninjitsu barely qualified them to be genin at all. They would even be safe to release from the village, altogether -- they haven't managed to learn anything in the Academy which would require their travel be restricted."

Kakashi grimmaced. "Personnel requirements being what they are, I'm afraid drumming anyone out, entirely, is... unfeasable. But, if after reviewing their records I agree with your assessment, I will make a point of instructing Haruno-san to evaluate them during their retraining as administrators."

Futaba nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Next... Moegi-san."

"Inari-kun performed as well as expected," Moegi replied. "While my other two genin did improve their taijutsu, they were not impressive. Both could be acceptable administrative genin, but are very borderline for missions."

Kakashi nodded. "We need all the administrative ninja we can get, once the teams are formed. If they seem promising in that regard, I think that would be to our advantage. Hanabi-chan?"

Hanabi hesitated. "The best of my team was not Adaha-san, as I expected, but one Okanemoto Akane. However..."

"Yes?"

She shook her head. "I don't trust him. He's... belligerent and arrogant. Properties a lot of successful ninja share, true, but he had to be bullied into attending classes. I'm not sure he'd be much of a team player, and is a threat to turn missing nin."

Kakashi nodded slowly, writing something down. "I will do my best to ensure that he is put on a team which will discourage that possibility, but we cannot dismiss him because of that threat. We need all of the promising ninja we can get. And your others?"

"Adaha-san, while not the top performer, was still as impressive as predicted. Nanigoto Izure... did not have the physical traits required for my class."

Kakashi nodded. "Understood. In that case, we'll move on to--"

"I wasn't quite finished," Hanabi continued, raising her voice to interrupt. "Izure-san was not qualified to learn in my class... but he could, potentially, be a high level ninja. His talent was not one of the specialties we offered, however. I would recommend sending him to Konoha for training."

Kakashi stared at her for several moments. "Under whom?"

"I believe there is a teammate of my cousin, Neji, whose talents prove her to be the best shuriken user in generations. I would recommend Izure-san be apprenticed to this... Tenten-san. Izure-san is an ideal shuriken user, a potential shuriken master, and would benefit from such an education."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, this complicates things, doesn't it? I'll look into the matter. Ino-san, your turn."

Ino shrugged. "All three of my genin proved to be ideal espionage talents, all through entirely different methods. Munamoto Sousou is so unassuming that she can make people overlook her, making her ideal for civilian infiltration. Seiteki Pansuke is definitely an early candidate for courtesan training, and is a natural to be trained as what the Grass sometimes call a 'raven,' an agent who uses sexual techniques for the purposes of interrogation. She seems to have a few discipline problems associated with arrogance, but other then that is okay. Ekisutora Bangai is decent at a variety of techniques, though holds no specialty in any."

Kakashi sighed. "We're forming three teams -- one of combat specialists and two generalist teams. That means we really have only two slots for espionage specialists. Your report seems to indicate that they're about equal, in terms of skill, but one of them is the odd girl out. Which of those three would make the best administrator?"

There was no question in Ino's mind who the best administrator would be, but she felt it was almost a shame to pull her out of active duty. Of all the three, she was the most level headed, but... well, there was really only one who could manage as an administrator. "Ekisutora Bangai, no question."

Kakashi wrote some more on the notepad by him and nodded. "Very well. Next -- Sakura-chan."

"All three of my students obtained summoning contracts," Sakura said, then took a deep breath. "Two of them achieved multiple."

That started the room muttering, but Kakashi merely nodded. "Who has what?"

"Hiniku Butakatsu won a contract with the pigs. I... don't trust that boy. From his own report, he admitted that he revealed information to a potential enemy during an encounter -- not damaging information, true, but that kind of moral justification can sometimes lead to justification of a persons betrayal," Sakura evaluated.

More writing. "So noted. Go on."

"Komakai Chikan achieved two. For a terminally seasick boy, one of them is rather surprising -- he can summon dolphins. The other summon is the moles."

"Very well. And the third -- this Ran Umiko?"

Sakura hesitated. If they were so shocked to hear about multiple summons, they would be astonished at this one. "Horses and... birds. Specifically, eagles."

Even Kakashi looked momentarily shocked at that one. "Eagles?" he finally said, calming the others.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei. Eagles. As in birds -- she has a contract with the birds. The Rock had allowed their contract to lapse. We encountered a team sent by the rock to obtain the contract, but it was too late for them. The frogs and horses aided in our escape before the Rock team learned of this, however."

Kakashi took a deep breath, closing his visible eye. "I will have to inform the hokage about this. Relations with the Rock are shaky enough as it is -- but it isn't something Umiko-san should be blamed for."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, final report. Naruto? And please tell me you don't have another major revelation like that to deal with?"

Naruto shook his head. "Afraid not, sir. They all proved themselves to be good ninja, though, and I'd trust any of them to be a member of my team. I understand that Rouhi should probably go into administrative work due to medical concerns, however, but I'll be willing to keep working with all of them regardless of whether they make the teams or not. I gave them a bell test, and Hiyowai Shiro passed. Easily."

Kakashi nodded, writing a few more words down on the paper next to him. "Okay, thank you all. Naruto, Sakura, Ino -- the three of you report back here in three hours for team assignments. The rest of you, dismissed."

"Yes, sir," the assembled group said, leaving out the doors.

Once he was sure they were all gone and out of hearing distance, Kakashi glanced over to one wall. He gesturing with a finger, then pulled out three files.

"Yes?" the nearly indistinguishible voice replied.

"These three. They're yours. You'll have to work around their instruction, but that shouldn't be a problem. You have to figure out how to approach them, as well -- I'm not doing your job for you."

"Very well."

"Remember, I'm not to know anything about this. Don't send me any word on their progress -- either through official channels or secretly. There are certain individuals around here who are already suspicious enough that something is going on. While we're operating in the best interest of Konoha, we'd probably have a hard time explaining before they reacted."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, get the hell out of here -- I've got work to do."

* * *

Naruto stood between Sakura and Ino as the genin assembled before them. The teams had been selected, and it was time to assemble them. _Finally,_ he thought. _I'm going to be getting something to_ do _around here._ Ino didn't look too happy, and Sakura's smile was a bit forced, but Naruto was definitely pleased.

Sakura was the first to speak. "We'll now read out who is on which teams. Do not worry if you are not selected here -- several of you are being designated into specialized training, some of which may require a specialized instructor, and may be allowed on a team at a later date. If your name is not called, you are to report to Haruno-san at the classroom tomorrow for assignment to your next level of training. I'll have you know that I could have benefited from such training as you will be getting when I was a rookie genin, myself, so be glad -- you're getting a great opportunity, wherever you wind up."

"Right," Naruto said, grinning. "Don't anyone give up -- you never know what could happen. I failed the academy back home three times, and now here I am -- a jounin. Don't be surprised if you wind up with a job more to your liking once this is done."

"Exactly," Sakura replied, smiling at him. "You've been asked to do in one year what most of us do in three, and none of you have had the base that most ninja are expected to have before entering the Academy. That any of you are ready is remarkable. That the rest of you aren't ready, yet, is no fault of your own."

Naruto took over for a moment. "Now, my team first. Kakashi-sensei noticed that there was a trio of you who acted pretty well, together, during a recent incident. He figured it was probably a good idea not to break apart a team that was known to work, so Inari-chan, Adaha-san, and Umiko-san... you're mine."

The trio of genin stepped up, taking position behind him as they had been instructed to before the assembly had begun. All three looked rather pleased, and Naruto couldn't be happier -- he had probably wound up with the best team, and he knew it. He felt a little sorry for Sakura and Ino, since he knew that niether were exactly happy with everyone on thier teams, but at least one of them was.

"Now, my team," Sakura continued. "We'll have to work a bit on our teamwork before we get into missions, since to the best of my knowledge you're all relatively unfamiliar with each other, but I'm sure we'll form into a cohesive team in no time. When I call your name, come forward. Hiyowai Shiro."

The pale boy made his way around to line up behind her, just as the trio Naruto had called had done. "Yes, ma'am."

_He's a good guy. I wonder why Sakura-chan was so upset? She wouldn't tell me who was on her team, but it doesn't sound that bad if she got a quality guy like Shiro,_ Naruto mused.

"Next, Munamoto Sousou."

_Oh, I get it,_ Naruto thought as the shy girl slowly made her way out behind Sakura. _She's upset that one of her twelve-year old students has bigger boobs then she does. I keep telling Sakura she looked just fine, but she does seem a bit upset about being so small. It must have something to do with being the old hag's student, having to see those big things every day._

"Finally," Sakura called, though her voice dropped as her forced enthusiasm slipped. "Komokai Chikan, please come forward."

"Chikan... Chikan... why does that name sound familiar?" Naruto asked. He had been teaching the genin for a whole year, but he still had trouble connecting most of the names to the faces. It was when Chikan stepped forward that he remembered _exactly_ who the genin was. "Oh... him. Hm..." He intercepted the boy before he found his place and grinned at him, showing the fangs -- which he utilized a tiny bit of the kyuubi to grow. "I won't have to _speak_ with you, will I?"

Chikan swallowed nervously. "Um... no, sir."

"Good. I'd better not."

Ino took her place in front as Chikan scrambled away back to his position in line, in preparation for calling out her team. She did not look happy... and as she called her team, neither Naruto nor Sakura could blame her. They both knew the genin she called very well.

"Hiniku Butakatsu, Okanemoto Akane, Seiteki Pansuke... line up. You're my team."

Naruto stepped over to Sakura so he could whisper to her without being overheard. "Is it just me... or did Kakashi-sensei make a team of all our troublemakers and give them to Ino-chan?"

"I... think he did," Sakura replied, astonished.

"Well, why the hell would he do something like that?" he asked, incredulous, his voice slipping past a whisper.

"I don't know," Sakura replied. "I... do you think there's something wrong with him? He's been acting strange since we left for Blossom."

"I've noticed," Naruto replied. "I don't know if there's something wrong with him or not, but... we're going to have to help Ino-chan keep an eye on them, aren't we?"

"As much as we can," she answered. "Naruto... you have a way of getting in touch with Tsunade-shishou without Kakashi-sensei noticing, right?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "And before you ask... I already sent her the question. Her reply was that we shouldn't worry, but that Shizune-chan will help us keep an eye on him. I've also still got some control of things around here, and... well, you know about my other sources already."

"Yeah," Sakura replied, shaking her head. "I can't help but remember, though, how everyone was reassuring me that everything would be all right with Sasuke... and we all know how that turned out. You and Tsunade-shishou are telling me that everything is going to be all right with Kakashi-sensei... but how sure can I be?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I can't promise anything. I wouldn't promise it even if I could... but I will do whatever I can to make sure this doesn't end up like that did. That much, I think, I can promise."

* * *

Notes: So... the teams are revealed. Questions? Comments? Complaints?

This ends most of the real set-up for the conclusion to Volume 3 (finally) and prepares a very few little things for Volume 4 -- moderately significant things, actually, but you probably won't know what it is for quite some time. After a brief intermission (as described below), we'll start the climax of Volume 3... which should lead into Volume 4 very nicely, I would think.

Next Chapter: Sakura's eighteenth birthday is upon us. Is she going to be able to spend it with Naruto, however, now that they both have teams of thier own? (Not a real good teaser, but I'm not certain how far into this storyline this one chapter will go. It could be the whole thing, it could split into three or four chapters. Somewhere along the line, there will be a lemon, which will be censored on the ffnet version, but I can't say for certain yet whether that'll be next chapter or not)


	55. V3 Chapter 45

Volume 3

Notes: If you go to my author page (on ffnet), you'll see a piece of fanart I had requested for this fic and recieved many months ago from an artist whose handle was 'Cambria-chan.' It's sort of a scene from the end of this chapter (or possibly the start of the next) featuring Sakura. Don't peak until you've read the chapter, even though the spoilers in it are very minor. (Well, I'm puttingup the file, anyway -- I've never bothered using the picture posting feature of before, and I'm not sure how quickly it'll be updated) For the record, I'd be glad to accept any fanart anyone wishes to send my way. If I get enough of them, I might cycle them on my profile -- when I think a particular fanart pic fits a particular chapter really well, I'll change the picture.

* * *

Chapter 45 

Sakura took a deep breath as she stood in front of the double doors leading to Kakashi's office. She had no idea just what to expect in response to her request, but she wanted to make it regardless. Kakashi-sensei may have been getting increasingly erratic in his administration, lately -- Ino's team just being the latest in a long series of bizarre examples regarding his curious decisions. Just to be sure, she had Naruto use his backdoor channels to find out Tsunade's thoughts on that particular decision, but the response proved to be unsatisfying. "Already informed. Will keep an eye on situation," was all that it said. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Socially, however, he had become a lot more like his old self. He had been making an effort, lately, to repair the tattered bonds with his former students, so perhaps he'd grant her request without question. More likely, however, he would have several questions... and Sakura, while prepared with answers, was a bit uncertain as to whether he would see through them to find her real purpose with all of this. It was, after all, a bit embarrassing to 'arrange' a mission like this one. And if he did guess just why she wanted it... well, who knew how he would react.

Deciding to just bite the bullet and get it over with, she knocked on the door. "Kakashi-sensei? Are you busy?"

"Come on in," he called back.

She schooled her face and her emotions, relying on her overlay persona technique to present the appearance of a calm, collected woman with nothing concerning her, and then opened the door. Stepping through, she saw Anko and Kakashi sharing the office, Anko apparently doing some paperwork. She nodded to the older woman. "Good morning, Anko-chan. I didn't know you were here. Come to think of it, I haven't seen you in a while."

Anko hesitated, then nodded. "I've actually been given a mission straight from Konoha. It's classified, so I can't tell you anything about it -- I can't even tell Kakashi-sensei anything about it -- but... well, it's been keeping me busy."

"I miss our chats, though. Maybe we can do dinner some time soon."

"Yes, well, since you're living with Naruto, I doubt our dinners will be quite as 'private' as they used to be," Anko noted.

"Maybe you will, now," Sakura sighed. "We're both being given missions so often, we rarely get a chance to eat dinner together any more. It's good for us, but... er, it gets a bit difficult sometimes, since we're almost never on the same mission any more." She paused, turning to Kakashi. "In fact, that's partly why I'm here -- for a mission. Kakashi-sensei, my father asked me to deliver this request personally, since it's so unusual and has such a time-sensitive nature."

Kakashi stared at her for a moment. "Let me see the request form," he said.

"Here," Sakura said, handing the paper to him with assumed confidence.

He stared at it for a few seconds, obviously skimming through the details. "Curious," he finally said. "A request for escorts during a set of trade negotiations at the nearby Great Naruto Bridge Village. D-rank mission, yet it requests two specific _jounin _by name. Odd, this."

Sakura winced mentally, but thanks to her overlay persona it didn't show. "Well, Naruto-kun's and my teams can both handle D-rank missions on their own, but aren't really up to anything more advanced just yet, so we're essentially expendable for short missions such as this one. My father knows the both of us well, and knows we're very highly regarded in that village -- which should improve his negotiations."

"True," Kakashi said. He stared at the paper some more, then sighed. "Very well. I'll accept the mission."

"Thank you very much, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura replied, very much relieved. Her overlay persona relaxed, allowing her true emotions to surface. "I'll go inform him of your acceptance right away."

Kakashi nodded. "Dismissed." He waited until she was right at the door before he called again, "By the way, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?" she replied, turning to face him from the door.

"Next time, consider asking for leave for yourself and your boyfriend to go and celebrate your birthday," he suggested. "I would have granted it, after all, unless there was a crisis, and it would have saved your father a bit of money."

Sakura blushed. "I... I don't know what you're talking about, sensei. My father's mission request was very much legitimate."

"Of course it was, Sakura-chan," Kakashi agreed, ignoring the unconcealed laughter coming from the nearby Anko. "Of course it was."

* * *

"Hm... so we're spending your birthday with your father this year?" Naruto asked as Sakura told him of their new mission. 

She smirked at him, a twinkle in her eyes. "No. _You're_ spending my birthday with my father -- he didn't really need both of us on _this_ simple of a mission, after all. _I'm_ going around town to treat myself for my birthday... and then, when you're done for the day, my father is going to rent a hotel room and check in for the night, while you head over to the bridge where I'll be waiting for you to take me out to dinner."

Naruto blinked. "Oh. Well, sure -- dinner it is. But why isn't your father coming with us?"

Sakura looked at him pointedly. "Naruto-kun... I know you're a bit naive, sometimes, about a great many things. I also know at least some of that is an act. Now, tell me, are you playing it up this time, or are you _really_ so naive that you don't know why a girl wouldn't want her father on a dinner date with her boyfriend?"

Naruto grinned slightly. "Okay, you got me on that one. Although I wasn't quite sure whether dinner, tonight, would actually qualify as a 'date,' or whether it would be something of a birthday party."

"It's a birthday date," Sakura replied, snickering. "But don't bother bringing that gift for me you've been hiding under your bed this past week. I'll open it when we get back... I have something else in mind for after dinner."

"Well... okay," Naruto replied. "I think your birthday party last year was a more interesting celebration."

Sakura stared at him for a moment, then smiled. "That, I can tell, is the genuine Naruto-kun naivette. Trust me, Naruto-kun... what I have in mind for after dinner is probably a lot more... 'interesting' then a simple party."

* * *

Naruto blinked, looking at Sakura's father as he carried the crate full of trade goods from the wagon into the warehouse. "Um, isn't that my job?" 

The older man grinned down at him. "I'm not sure my daughter would approve of me tiring you out before her birthday celebration tonight. Besides, you have your training to keep you in shape -- well, carrying these crates is how I exercise, so I'd prefer to do it, myself. _You_ are here to make sure I don't get robbed or cheated while dealing with these traders."

Naruto hesitated. "Um... how am I supposed to do that, Haruno-san?"

If the father of Haruno Sakura realized just what a compliment Naruto had paid him by remembering to use the 'san' honorific, he would have been astonished -- in all of Naruto's life, he'd probably only used it with three people. As it was, the older man merely passed it off as the boy being polite to the father of his fiancee, and that was it. "Just keep an eye on their workers when they load my truck -- make sure no-one sneaks into the packages after I've checked them and takes anything out. And try to look tough while I'm conducting negotiations -- they're much less likely to try and cheat a person when he has armed back-up with him."

Naruto waited as the Haruno patriarch finished unloading his wagon, and then joined him as he began negotiations for payment on the goods. He was rather bored, actually -- this wasn't exactly his kind of mission -- but he supposed there was actually some reason for him to be there other then Sakura wanting to go to this town for her birthday; otherwise, she would have just taken a day off, after all. It wasn't like they didn't have a ton of leave collected that they could take any time they didn't have a high-priority mission scheduled.

His attention was drawn to the words of the shopkeeper, however, when he heard the man say, "Well, the market for the refined steel in your goods isn't that good, right now, so we can't offer you the full amount we used to."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? The price of refined steel -- especially high grade steel such as the weaponsmiths in ninja villages like Blossom produce -- is higher then ever before. It doesn't matter if it's being made into kitchen knives or swords, we have to use the highest grade steel we can manufacture, and that's selling at record prices."

The shopkeeper, ignoring the look on the blond boy's face, gave a patronizing, "And you are?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Haruno-san is my... client."

"Uzumaki... Naruto. You don't mean _that_ Uzumaki Naruto, do you? The one the bridge, and this whole town, is named for?" the man replied, suddenly sounding very nervous.

"Um, well," Naruto stammered, blushing.

"Yes, he is," the Haruno man replied. "And he also happens to be dating my daughter."

"Oh." The shopkeeper pulled out a chart, running his finger down the line. "Um, what do you know! You're right -- I must have been looking at the cost of unrefined iron ore, instead. Silly me!"

"But iron ore is at record--"

"I can offer you the full price I used to pay, plus twenty percent. If that's all right with you?" the shopkeeper continued, overriding Naruto's incredulous observation.

"Oh, that's all right," Sakura's father laughed. "I'd feel a bit guilty taking such a price, in fact. Prices have risen, but not that much -- cut that twenty percent in half and I'll be happy."

"Very well," the shopkeeper replied, bowing obsequiously. "Do you want it split as usual -- fifty percent cabinet-grade plywood, twenty percent paint, twenty percent paper, and ten percent manufactured goods?"

"Yes, that sounds satisfactory, thank you. Of course, I'll want to inspect it all before it's loaded on the cart."

"Of course. Let me get right on that, will you?"

As the shopkeeper left, the Haruno patriarch turned an amused eye Naruto's way. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. While I probably would have wound up with that price anyway, you saved me from several hours of rather tedious bartering, there... and while I appreciate that, it was entirely unnecessary. The old man who runs this shop loves to haggle, and will invent many silly lies and rumors to help... but in the end, usually gives a fair price. I should have warned you about that."

"Eh? But wasn't I supposed to keep an eye out to see if he was cheating you or not?"

The older man waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, but that wasn't exactly the point. I just needed the _threat_ of having someone here, looking over things, to keep him acting fairly. While your intervention certainly sped up negotiations, it didn't exactly work to make future negotiations any easier. By adjusting the price to what it would have wound up being and pointing out that you're dating Sakura-chan, I've likely smoothed that over -- no-one in this country wants to get on your bad side, and so won't ever risk offending me thanks to that, and they know I'm not using you to bully them into sweetheart deals -- but, in point of fact, even though both he and I knew what the end result would be, the negotiations themselves were important too. It's a ritual, of sorts, that ensures you are going to play fairly, and not a true attempt to cheat the other person. You say you intend to be hokage, some day -- I know you understand economics, considering the boom we had when you were acting as the village leader, but perhaps you need to study the fine art of negotiation as well. Politics is a difficult thing, and sometimes you have to engage in these little subterfuges, both of you knowing how it will all end, or else your rivals and allies will think much less of you."

Naruto frowned. "So I'm supposed to go along with it when they try and cheat me?"

"No, not exactly. It's more like be careful of your language, and use it to decieve but don't say anything which can be nailed down as a lie. Take this shopkeeper's words, for example: He didn't say the price was 'low,' exactly, just that the market was 'bad.' Well, if you compare how much the price of steel has risen this year and compare it to how much it's risen the past five years or so, he's right -- the market is bad. That doesn't mean the _price_ is lower or anything, or the market is falling, just that it's not as good as it 'should' have been, and therefore it's a 'bad' market. You shouldn't challenge them on this directly, or they'll be offended, but rather say 'but the price of refined steel of the quality _we _produce has gone up lately.' Again, you're not saying that the price of other types of steel is dropping, and therefore granting him the position that the market for refined steel is 'bad,' but you are still making the case for _your_ steel -- that not only is it doing well, but giving the impression that it's doing better then any other steel in the market. Which is false -- stainless is performing much better then any carbon steel on the market, at the moment, in terms of how much it goes up in value. However, that impression, too, is a part of the negotiations -- if he's doing what he should, he knows that already, and knows you're putting forward a false impression, but once again he can't challenge you on that without being offensive. Unless you're already in hostile negotiations -- which you never should be as a businessman, but might be as a politician -- directly challenging a deception like that is more likely to do harm then good."

Naruto considered those words for a moment. "So you mean... you have to look underneath the underneath when negotiating?"

Unfamiliar with this phrase, the old man paused to consider it. "I... suppose that could be the case."

"Oh! So it's just like being a ninja, then. I get it." Naruto grinned. "You should always look underneath the underneath, when planning a strategy as a ninja. Kakashi-sensei reminded me of that the very first time we trained together."

His face fell, and Sakura's father picked up on it right away. "What is it, son?"

"Son?" Naruto repeated, gaping up at him. "What... huh?"

Realizing that the affectionate term had completely confused Naruto, the older man decided he needed to explain. Lord knew, the boy had heard few enough affectionate terms sent his way in the past, it was no wonder he was a little startled when he heard one directed at him. "You are going to marry my daughter, right? That will make you my son, one day. Forgive me for being a bit premature."

"Oh," Naruto replied, flushing in embarrassment. "Right. Of course. I guess it's a good thing that's what you meant -- I certainly don't want Sakura-chan to be my sister, after all. That would just be... creepy."

"I can imagine," the Haruno patriarch replied, lips twitching with restrained laughter. "But I could tell -- something was bothering you. What was it?"

"I... I can't talk about it," Naruto sighed after hesitating for a moment. "Not even to Sakura-chan. What I can tell you is that it has something to do with Kakashi-sensei."

"From what Sakura-chan tells me, he's been acting rather wierd for a few months, now. Odd enough she felt the need to talk to me about it... and, considering she's been spending almost all of her time with you lately, it says a lot that she brought it up with me."

Naruto looked embarrassed at that. "I'm sorry, Haruno-san. I didn't know. People who have families really shouldn't neglect them -- I should talk with Sakura-chan about that."

Laughter was almost all that the Haruno man could manage after that. Once he could catch his breath again, he gasped, "Oh, Naruto-kun... I can tell I'm going to love having you as a son-in-law."

That, too, caused Naruto's short-lived humor to drop. "Um, yeah," he sighed.

That caused the older man to raise an eyebrow. "Hm, that doesn't sound promising. Is there something else? Something about Sakura-chan I should know about?"

"Not really," Naruto replied. "I love her, and she's great, but... why won't she wear the bracers?"

"The bracers? What bracers? Oh! I remember -- you gave her an ancestral family treasure of those bracers as an engagement gift."

"Yeah. I couldn't get a ring, but I figured those would work just as good, considering," Naruto explained. "And... she says she's not going to wear them until she's ready to announce our engagement. And she's not going to do that until she's ready to get married. I can understand all that, but... well, we ninja don't always have the longest lives, and it worries me... what if something goes horribly wrong, and... and we miss out? I... I'm afraid..."

"I'd be afraid, too," Sakura's father said, sighing deeply. "Still am, in fact, for her sake. And for yours, too -- I was never as sure of you as my wife was, but the way you've treated my daughter these past few months and the maturity you showed when you were put in charge of Blossom proved to me she was right, and so I worry for you as if you were _already_ my son-in-law. And so I worry for you... just as I worried for my wife, when she was still just my fiancee and still just as active a ninja as Sakura-chan is. More so, actually -- she went out on more dangerous and long-term missions, usually. But, in the end, she lived long enough to marry me. She's come back out of retirement, now, but only as a school teacher... and I'm very grateful that she has, since it has allowed us to be with our daughter during this period of her life. I'd always worried for her safety, however... as I always worry about Sakura-chan's. And as I now worry about yours."

Naruto grinned feebly. "I... thank you, Haruno-san. But that doesn't mean I worry about... missing something, with Sakura-chan. I don't intend to die, and I won't let her die if I can avoid it -- for that matter, I'm not sure, with how the seal works now, if I would even survive if she died. But... I asked her to marry me because I want to be married to her, not because I want to be her boyfriend who can't even tell people she's my fiancee. I'm a bit... frustrated about that."

The Haruno man looked at him for a long moment. "I'm afraid I can't really help you with that one -- you'll have to talk with Sakura-chan about it."

"I can't," Naruto sighed. "One part of the reason she doesn't want to announce things is that she doesn't want to be pressured about getting married. I can't start pressuring her, myself, can I? I'd just be... hurting her, and I can't do that."

"There will be times you have no choice but to hurt her," he warned. "She may even want you to do something which could hurt her. I suspect she'll want kids, some day, and childbirth... is _very_ painful. It's also one of the few areas where civilian medicine is superior to medical ninjitsu, and even the civilians can't get rid of most of the pain safely."

"That's just physical pain," Naruto pointed out. "We're ninja -- we're trained to accept physical pain. But the emotional stuff..." His voice trailed off.

There was a long pause, as niether person knew what to say. The shopkeeper chose that moment to return to the room just then. "Okay, your order's ready for inspection. If you'll come this way..."

* * *

Sakura hesitated. She had already done what she'd told Ino she would do in that same village more than a year before -- she'd gotten a tattoo. It had stung initially, but thanks to her medical knowledge it wasn't too hard to kill the pain, remove any chance of infection, and just enjoy the primping. At least it was on her leg, which she could show off, and not on a... more private area, like Ino had gotten. It did turn out to be a slightly larger then she'd initially intended, but she liked the look anyway. She hoped Naruto liked it, too, but she supposed he would have to deal with it whether he did or not. 

And now, here she was in front of the 'Great Naruto Brothel,' planning to go inside to buy certain supplies she wanted -- replacement massage oils, for the ones Naruto and she had been steadily using up with the massages they were both giving each other, now. For they had been progressing quite a bit, and one of the things Sakura did was have Naruto learn how to 'return the favor' when she gave him a massage. She'd never let them get too far, however, because she 'wasn't ready,' as she constantly told Naruto. What she really wasn't ready for was motherhood, and that... wouldn't be a concern, now. She was very nervous about her plans for that evening, but nothing said she had to go that far... she just would manage the massage, and see how things went from there.

She would need those massage oils, however, and she couldn't get them in Blossom -- Kireme's brothel had yet to establish their own supply line for their 'professional' line of products, and so they didn't have any to sell her. Hopefully, however, the 'Great Naruto Brothel' would have it... or at least something similar. Taking a deep breath, she went inside.

"Hello, welcome to... oh. A girl. We don't do girls," the madame greeted, sniffing slightly.

"I'm, uh, not here for that," Sakura replied, blushing.

"Oh. Well, if you're looking for employment..." The madame looked her up and down. "Well... maybe. Strip."

Anger flashed in Sakura's eyes, but she quickly calmed herself as she remembered why she was here. "I'm not here for _that,_ either."

"Are you looking for someone, then? Your boyfriend, perhaps? I'm afraid we maintain the confidentiality of our clients, so--"

"Can you let _me_ ask for what I want, and quit assuming things?" Sakura huffed.

The madame looked offended for a moment, and then mildly embarrassed as she realized just what she had been doing. "My apologies. My specialty normally is in knowing exactly what our clients desire, even if they do not know they desire it. Apparently, however, you are... not like my usual clients. Which makes perfect sense, if you think about it -- I never cater to girls for a reason, you understand."

Biting her tongue to hold in an angry retort, the pink-haired kunoichi bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Of course. Let me explain -- I come from the village of Blossom--"

"Oh! A ninja village! I've heard you ninja occasionally approach brothels for certain kinds of... lessons. But you're a bit younger then I was given to understand most modern ninja are to begin such training."

Throttling her temper down by shoving it into her overlay persona for Inner Sakura to deal with, Sakura shook her head. "I'm not here about that. If I did need the services of a brothel for that kind of training -- and I've qualified for a waiver of such educational requirements if and when they would have come up, so I'm not -- then, no offense to your establishment, I would approach the brothel that Blossom is subsidizing for such purposes."

The madame blushed. "I did it again, didn't I? My apologies."

"As I was saying, I come from the village of Blossom. My fiance once was apprenticed to a man I'm told all brothels know of, even if they haven't met him personally -- the legendary Jiraiya the Toad Hermit." The reference to Naruto being her fiance had become something of a second nature to Sakura... when dealing with people outside of Blossom. For some reason, she felt a lot more secure with complete strangers knowing then with her friends and family... which, perhaps, was something she needed to work on. But she could deal with that, later -- she had more immediate matters to consider.

The madame flinched. "Oh, my. Um... yes, well, he had a special relationship with most of us where we pass certain pieces of information on to him on occasion. We do have two small packets for him -- one on the matter he asked us to look into regarding the Cloud, and the other regarding the Rock ninja who we identified earlier. I can have them prepared for you in a moment..."

_So much for 'maintaining the confidentiality of their clients,' _Sakura thought. "That would be wonderful... although that's still not why I'm here. I'm here on personal business, not professional."

"Still, I imagine it would be safer leaving the information packets with you then to try and deliver them by courier, as we usually do."

"Yes, it would. Although I wouldn't be so trusting, if I were you... if I weren't who I said I was, you might be delivering that information to the wrong person."

The madame bowed. "I understand that, ma'am, but please understand that I can tell by the simple fact you warned me you were here on personal business that you are who you say. I will have the packets prepared. Now, about your 'personal business?'"

"My fiance, on his travels with Jiraiya, picked up some professional grade massage oils," Sakura explained. "We have been using them, periodically, but they are almost exhausted. The brothel inside of Blossom is too new to have located their own source for these products, but they recommended I come here and ask for them from a more established brothel. I'm fully willing to pay for them, but I want the real high-end products -- it's my birthday, and I'm used to using those instead of more commercial grades."

The madame hesitated. "Um... we don't usually sell those, but I suppose we can make an exception in this one case -- as an apology for all the misunderstandings I've already put you through, so far. Do you have a specific product in mind, or will a general assortment do?"

"I have here an empty bottle of the brand we've been using," Sakura said, pulling out the exhausted bottle of cinnamon oil from Naruto's now empty gift set. "I'd say we want the cinnamon oil... and, um, possibly some of the fruit flavored variety, as well. I've seen orange, but Kireme-san -- my contact in Blossom's brothel -- tells me they have them in many other fruit flavors, as well."

"I'm afraid we don't carry that brand," the madame replied after a long moment of examining the bottle. "It's too expensive to import. There are, however, more local competitors which are of an equal standard. Would you care to sample them?"

* * *

Her business done -- complete with a little surprise for Naruto in her travel pouch -- Sakura made her way to the rendezvous spot she had arranged with Naruto before they split up that morning. She leaned up against the fence along the bridge and smiled nervously to wait for him. She flushed a little, knowing that what she was planning went far beyond anything they had ever done together... and they had been doing a lot, lately. The first time she had given Naruto a massage since... well, the first time -- a memory she still treasured, despite the interruption Sasuke's appearance had caused -- had come after a long, hard day for him on a mission to do one of those many onerous tasks relegated to class D missions. She wasn't exactly sure what the mission was -- probably something related to gardening or the like, if the muck on his clothes was any indication -- but it had ground down his legendary stamina to the point that he was actually complaining about sore muscles. Naruto almost never complained aloud about any aches and pains, although Sakura had seen the evidence of some even after his enhanced healing abilities had cured the actual problem, but that day he was. Sakura knew just how worn out he must have been, then, because his strained muscles had forced him to utter some pained moans as he was sitting down to dinner that night. 

She had sent him off to shower after that evening's meal, and slipped into his room to pick up those special oils -- oils which had remained untouched since the clean-up of Sasuke's invasion. Then, she stripped herself down to her underwear, and waited for him. When he arrived in nothing but a towel, Sakura was quick to order him into bed, face down, so that she could give him another massage. Just like the first, she felt _herself_ heating up as she rubbed the hot and spiced oils into his skin. Unlike the previous massage, this time she did give him the happy ending.

It wasn't exactly the 'full' happy ending, perhaps, but... well, there was a reason she knew what the orange oil tasted like on skin. She had still refused to go all the way, though. She'd told Naruto she 'just wasn't ready for it,' which was true -- her birth control techniques were still well away from being effective -- but possibly misleading, since she knew she was emotionally ready for it. She was holding off to make being ready a surprise, and finally, four days before her birthday, she gave herself a blood test and found that the result she had been waiting for had finally been achieved. She was ready. She was _so_ ready.

Naruto wouldn't know what hit him.

* * *

Notes: No lemon -- yet. It's pretty much guaranteed for the next chapter, however -- there's still one scene between here and there to get through, but that's more of an introduction, and the lemon will definitely be after that. Well, I think it's pretty obvious I'm leading up to it, anyway. Then there will be an 'after the action' scene, and then... well, that's it until the Volume 3 conclusion arc (which may wind up being a pretty long arc, since I've got quite a bit to resolve). And then Volume 4, where Team Gai plays the role of the Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae only with worse odds, Naruto plays the role of Henry V in the Battle of Agincourt, Orochimaru plays the role of Shenlong in DBZ by reviving the dead (only not exactly for the same reasons), and the Hyuuga civil war comes to a head (Sorry, no historic or literary parallels for this one). Er, I've got a lot of work cut out for me, don't I? 

Next chapter: Sakura and Naruto have a birthday dinner... and more. Well, the obvious more. FFnet readers may discover that the chapter is... much shorter then usual, as most of it will be cut out for ffnet imposed censorship restrictions. Or maybe not -- we'll see just how long it actually is when I post it, won't we?


	56. V3 Chapter 46

Volume 3

Notes: This is the lemon chapter. FFnet readers, if you want to see the roughly six thousand words that comprise the naughtiest bits, head over to mediaminer or to the brand new Heaven and Earth Fanfiction Library (I can't give urls, thanks to FFnet's restrictions, but if you added www and com to the appropriate places around narusaku, you'll get to the Heaven and Earth forums from which you should be able to find it). I tried to include a little R-rated teaser where it was appropriate even for the FFNet version, but all of the 'action' has been removed. The adult version at mediaminer does include an extraneous bit or two, as well, just to make it more enticing to those who've been on pins and needles over the approaching lemon, in addition to what was supposed to be the 'story-relevant' sexual encounter (more on that later). You have been warned.

The picture posted on my user page of Sakura is supposed to represent her at the bridge at the end of the last chapter and in this opening scene. However, as I wrote this I decided her wardrobe needed to be altered a bit from what is shown. She is wearing sandals, not boots as it is shown in the picture, for example. I had the picture done a couple months, and twenty or thirty chapters, ago, and while I may have planned a lot ahead of times, accounting for her wardrobe in one particular scene so many chapters in advance is a bit much for me I fear.

* * *

Chapter 46 -- CENSORED VERSION 

Sakura's bashful smile was the very first thing Naruto laid eyes on as he reached the rendezvous point they had agreed to that morning. He had been something of a connoisseur of Sakura's expressions, but this one he had only seen once before. That one time was a 'happy' memory -- a _very_ happy memory, indeed. It was the expression he saw on her face when she had finished giving him one of her fabulous massages... and then took it well beyond a massage.

Considering that their massage had gone 'all the way,' so to speak, the last time Sakura wore that same bashful smile, Naruto suspected that Sakura had much more planned for that night then just dinner, and swallowed -- hopefully, he would be up for the task. He certainly didn't want to disappoint her -- they were both still virgins, and he had been told repeatedly by Jiraiya that virgins were often disappointed with their first times -- men lacked the stamina to last very long, and women needed experience to 'adjust,' whatever that meant. Assuming, of course, that his pink-haired medical ninja of a girlfriend intended to 'cure' the both of them of their virginal status -- they had done quite a bit without 'technically' going over that line, so far, and perhaps that was all she intended to do. That smile on her face made him rather excited, however... but also very, very nervous.

There was a lot more to take in of her then just the smile -- it took a few moments, but he finally noticed the blaringly obvious difference in her appearance.

"Sakura-chan!" he called, attracting her attention to him. "You... where did you get that tattoo?"

Sakura blushed, then turned her leg to show off the new adornment. "Do you like it?" The gentle movement of her knee proved to be all that was required to lead Naruto's eyes with her body -- something Sakura was quite pleased with. After letting him see the tattoo for a few moment, she prodded coyly, "Well?"

Naruto shook his head, slightly dazed. "It looks good on you, but... is it legal?"

"Legal?" Sakura laughed. "Of course it's legal! Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well... isn't that design of tattoo restricted to ANBU in Konoha?" Naruto asked. "Or are you an ANBU and just haven't told me?"

Sakura blinked, her eyes widening momentarily. "Um... oops. I didn't even think about that... but I don't think it's quite the same. The ANBU tattoo is much smaller and much less stylized... and there isn't an ANBU around who would have their identifying tattoos on their thighs. It's not exactly practical for them... but I think it's a good spot for it. What do you think?"

Naruto swallowed. "Um... it's very, uh, uh..."

Suddenly, a pinch at Sakura's rear end caused her to spin around, anger in her eyes and a slap more powerful then a battering ram on the way. She was startled to see Naruto standing there, but couldn't stay her hand. Fortunately, it appeared as if she just devastated a clone, as said Naruto disappeared with a puff of smoke the moment her hand touched it. Then she was startled again as two familiar arms wrapped themselves around her from behind,

Sakura paused, blinking. "Um, I've never been outflanked into a hug, before, Naruto-kun. It's completely unnecessary coming from you, though... what's this all about?"

His hands were suddenly on her tattooed thigh, sliding up it and even tucking a few fingers underneath her tight shorts. "Hm... well, I had to make sure that this little mark you put on your leg didn't ruin that wonderful skin of yours. It seems fine to me, though... so I've got to say it's a great spot for a tattoo. I'm not sure I can see all the way to the top, though -- may I look?"

Sakura blushed slightly. "Naruto! We're in public!" She paused. "And we haven't had dinner, yet."

Naruto didn't let go, although his hand quit its movement up her shorts. "Hm. We haven't, have we? After dinner, then?"

His hand gave a very gentle squeeze, and it was then Sakura realized just how close the fingertips of his hands had come to a certain part of her body. She swallowed. "Yes. After dinner. Definitely."

Suddenly, the hands were gone and Naruto was once more a few steps away, looking like the innocent, stumbling, bumbling boy he usually acted like he was, although his eyes might have been twinkling a little brighter with humor then usual. "Okay, then. So, where's this dinner going to be, again?"

* * *

Dinner proved to be exceptionally embarrassing for Naruto, although he managed to get out of it without ruining Sakura's evening. It started off simply enough -- Sakura had started a game of footsie with him. This wasn't too surprising -- that had happened often enough when they were eating out together. Then, the moved things up a little notch, but slipping off her sandals. The feeling of bare feet sliding across his pants was a bit unusual, but Naruto couldn't say he didn't like it. One of said feet started travelling a little higher, sliding up the pants leg. Naruto had a hard time swallowing, and he stared across at Sakura wide-eyed. She returned his gaze with an almost evil grin, and let the foot get even higher up his thigh... before rubbing gently against his crotch. 

Naruto was so startled at Sakura attempting such a thing in public he literally jumped, banging the table and nearly knocking it and all of their food over. He apologized profusely to the people who had turned to stare before sitting down again, casting a wary glance at the remarkably innocent-looking Sakura. He paused, trying to determine if that really was the girl he knew or if it was someone else transformed to look like her -- such a thing wasn't unheard of, after all, and Sakura was certainly behaving very... oddly. A warm buzz from the kyuubi, however, let him know that she was who she claimed to be, and so he sighed and relaxed back. Her foot once again started exploring his legs, and this time he was prepared for it. He considered attempting some sort of counter -- something like tickling the foot that was in his lap or something -- since this wasn't really fair on her part, but he found himself enjoying the attention too much. Instead, he made his biggest mistake of that evening -- he decided to reciprocate.

In and of itself, returning the 'favor' for Sakura wasn't a bad idea -- after all, it was just part of a game that had been played between men and women since the dawn of time. The problem was in the execution of the game. For one thing, he hadn't come into this restaurant prepared for the 'battle' that she had initiated, and so he had some difficulty with even the most basic of first steps. Part of the game, as any good player of footsie knew, was not to let the people around you know that you were playing it. The problem was, Naruto had chosen to wear boots, as this had started out as a mission on his part, and boots weren't the easiest of things to take off without it being too obvious. So he strained and he struggled, banging both of his knees on the hard surface of the tabletop several times, before he finally managed to get one off. At that point, he decided he'd gone far enough with the 'take off your shoes' part of the footsie battle, and began part two of this rather personal mission of his.

Over the years, Naruto had grown a considerable amount. In fact, he had managed to top Sakura's hieght during the training mission with Jiraiya, and in the past year or so managed to grow a few more inches tall as well. However, while his hieght in general had grown, the length of his legs had proportionally remained the same... and so, Sakura's legs turned out to be much longer then his own. She could reach across the table with one, and play footsie in his lap. He... could barely get one foot to touch the top of her bent knee. So, he scooted down in his chair a bit -- pushing a rather sensitive part of his body against Sakura's foot a bit more pleasantly then he was expecting -- in an effort to reach her, but he still couldn't quite reach what he was aiming at. By this point, he was so busy concentrating on his task that he failed to notice the silent laughter Sakura was holding in, amused at his little struggle. He shifted some more, just managing to get one foot to brush the cuffs of her bicycle shorts when he realized he'd run out of chair to scoot forward on. A very deliberate movement of Sakura's toes caught him by surprise, as well, and he shifted slightly... and found himself with no chair underneath him. The resounding crash as he plummeted to the floor was quickly followed by the laughter of many of their fellow diners. Naruto glanced up, flushing, hoping he hadn't ruined this dinner for Sakura.

She appeared around the corner of the table, face flushed from laughter as she reached down to help him up. "Come on -- you seem to be more interested in me then the food, and I've gotten all I wanted out of this meal. I originally planned to make a night of this, and maybe go to a movie or something before we finally went back to our hotel room." The laughter in her face receded, to be replaced by a smoky grin. "Perhaps we should just skip the movie, though, huh?"

* * *

Naruto glanced around the hotel room Sakura had lead them to, getting increasingly nervous... and anxious. He had definite reason to suspect this particular night together would be... different. Just how different, however, he wasn't quite sure... but the single king-sized four-poster bed in the room made it all the more likely they wouldn't be sleeping in seperate beds that night. Not that they always slept in seperate beds, anyway, so perhaps that wasn't so big of a surprise. Still... he was a bundle of nerves. He didn't want to jump the gun or anything, but Sakura had been... rather frisky since he first saw her on the bridge, and he had a good idea she had more in mind then just sleep that night. 

"Strip," Sakura commanded the moment the door closed behind them. Her voice was firm and demanding, and Naruto wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Huh?" Naruto replied, a little startled at the abruptness of the order. "But... um... what are we doing? Are, um, you giving me another massage?"

Sakura grinned slightly. "I bought a whole new selection of massage oils we can try some day, Naruto-kun. Tonight, however, I have something other than a massage in mind. Now, strip!"

Naruto hesitated only a fraction of a second longer before he began doing as she said. First, his jacket was tossed onto one of the two chairs the hotel had provided, and it was quickly followed by his shirt. His hands were trembling slightly, causing him to fumble the drawstring on his pants, but he eventually managed to get it untied and take it off... although it would have been easier if he'd remembered to remove his boots first. Once he kicked those off, he stood up and paused. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Um," Naruto began hesitantly, unsure of himself here. What was Sakura planning?

"I meant everything. Boxers too. Really, Naruto, you should know I mean that by now."

"Er... can I grab a towel?" Naruto asked. Yes, she'd seen him completely nude before -- several times, in fact. But he had always been wearing at least a towel until they were heavily involved, just about every other time, and he'd never pulled off his underwear with her looking right at... it, before.

Sakura's grin widened eerily. "No," she drawled.

"But--"

"Drop them. Now!"

This time, Naruto hesitated a bit longer before acting, but he did act. Feeling very self-conscious, his boxers fell to join the rest of his clothing on the chair. Sakura looked at him and shook her head sadly.

"What?" Naruto chirped, trying to keep himself from hiding from her eyes.

"You look like you need some... ah, 'stiffening up,'" Sakura sighed. "Well, I'll take care of that."

"Eh?" Naruto cried, startled.

Sakura shook her head and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Okay, come on. Looks like I've got more work to do then I thought."

"Work?" Naruto repeated. He found himself truly unable to follow what was going on. He'd thought he knew what they were going to do when he entered that apartment, but now he wasn't so sure. He was naked... but Sakura wasn't, and didn't seem to be showing many signs of getting undressed either. He trusted Sakura implicitly, however, and loved her dearly, so he would go along with whatever she said. As long as he was certain this really _was_ Sakura... and, well, there was no doubting that thanks to the kyuubi.

Sakura just shook her head, leading him into the bathroom. "Hands," she called.

"Huh?" Naruto replied, startled.

"Hands. I'm going to take a shower, and you're going to watch. But you aren't going to be allowed to touch anything, so I'm going to make sure your hands are tied down."

"A shower?" Naruto echoed, still quite purplexed. "Sakura-chan... I'll do whatever you ask of me, but... please, what's going on?"

Sakura hesitated, then shook her head. "Sit down," she said, gesturing to the toilet seat. Naruto did, folding his hands in his lap to at least regain some sense of dignity.

"Sakura-chan?"

"For quite some time now," Sakura began. "I have been telling you, whenever we started getting a little... physical, together, that I 'wasn't ready yet.' I probably implied that the reason I wasn't ready was because, well, I didn't want to... to... _to._ The thing is, though, that I did want to, and have wanted to for a while now -- probably since your trip with the genin to give them the chuunin exam. Every time we started kissing, or I gave you one of those massages, or you returned the favor with one of your massages -- you know, the ones that always seem to concentrate on my, ahem, upper body -- every time we did anything along those lines, I've been feeling this sort of... 'wanting' for you. It's hard to explain, but probably you understand it just as much as I do, because I suspect the situation is much the same in reverse."

Naruto tried to parse all of that, and eventually decided that even if he couldn't quite follow everything she was saying he agreed with the gist of it. "Yeah, I think so."

"Well, I've been the one who has always had to break things off between us -- to be the restrained one," Sakura pointed out, arching her eyebrows sharply. "Which just doubles that feeling. But I've been getting myself ready -- I've been trying for months to use a certain medical technique I was once taught to induce a state in my body which... well, it takes care of the risk of pregnancy, and that kind of thing. The process has also added to my frustration, due to how it works -- the details of which I won't go into -- and so, I have been a very, very, _very_ horny girl for quite some time."

"H-horny?" Naruto repeated, unable to believe that he heard her right. His eyes widened at the thought.

Sakura grinned, glad that she'd been able to elicit that particular reaction. "That's right. And so, in anticipation of completing this technique -- which has taken me two months longer then it should have, thanks to a number of interruptions, and therefore has driven up my... frustration... for much longer then I should have had to deal with it -- I started having a few long talks with Hana-chan and Kireme-san on just what sort of additional 'techniques' I could learn, inside and outside of the fine art of massage, to help me with this situation. Most of their suggestions were... interesting, and you've already experienced a few of them, but none of them quite relieved the 'pressure,' if you will. Just last week, however, my blood tests told me that my birth control technique had finally kicked in, and I was successful in completing it... and so I started planning this night with all that they've told me."

Naruto swallowed. "Oh."

"Any you know what my plan is?" Sakura asked rhetorically. "Well, I figure I've got a right to enjoy myself, since it is my birthday and all. I know that you've been frustrated, too, but my frustration has just been compounded -- repeatedly -- for the reasons I've just gone into... and so, I feel it's fair if, in the process of enjoying myself, I get to make you suffer just as I have."

Naruto blinked. "Suffer?"

"Oh, yes," Sakura purred. "You'll enjoy suffering this way -- at least, you'd better! -- but you're going to suffer as I do everything in my power to make you feel just as frustrated as I've been feeling these past few months. Which means you aren't allowed to do anything to 'relieve' yourself until I judge you're ready... and then we're both going to relieve ourselves with each other. But just to eliminate the temptation to cheat and so something you aren't allowed to do, I'm going to take one of Kireme-san's suggestions and tie you up a bit. Now, hands!"

Naruto still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he finally had some idea. This was a game, he figured... a game which likely would have a very interesting reward.

* * *

The game, and what followed, didn't actually last as long as either of them expected... but it sated them momentarily. Niether felt the usual drowsiness upon its completion, however -- in fact, both were ready for another round within minutes of finishing their first time together, but they were too busy cradling each other and dedicating the experience to memory. It was Naruto who was the first to stir, deciding that they must both be uncomfortable with how they were, lying on the bathroom floor, and wanting to continue things... elsewhere. When he sat up, though, and looked around, he almost panicked. 

"What... what did we do?" he asked, looking around. "How will we explain this to the hotel?"

Sakura frowned at him. "We did what two people who love each other have done since time immemorial, and it's really none of the hotel's business, is it?"

Naruto shook his head furiously. "I don't mean that -- I mean... this!"

He gestured helplessly, and it was then that Sakura saw just how much damage their little romp had caused. The walls of the shower -- still running -- were cracked. More blood (blood? Oh, yeah -- she'd been digging her claws into his back. Wait, when did she have claws? Oh... kyuubi) then should be able to come out of a human being if they expected to survive was mixed with soap, water, and sweat, now splattered all over the place -- pooling mostly on the floor but also visible on the walls, shower curtain, towels, mirrors, countertops, sink, toilet, etc. Also, while she didn't even remember how she did it, there was no question they had melted and shattered several of the light bulbs in the room. _Well... yes, how will we ever explain this to the hotel? _she wondered.

"We'll clean it up before we go," Sakura eventually decided. "After all, we're ninja -- it's part of our training to make a room look like we were never here when we leave it, no matter how much damage has been done. But, you know, I'm decidedly not really through with this night... are you?"

Naruto glanced at her and grinned -- a darkly lecherous grin that had never been seen on his face before. "Well... I don't think I am, either." Then he paused, his smile falling, as he looked around. "But, uh, let's keep the kyuubi out of it this time, okay? I'd rather not have to clean up this much damage somewhere else... and I'd like to try it in a nice, soft bed this time."

Sakura laughed. "No kyuubi this time, got it. The bed sounds promising, though... race you to it?"

* * *

Sakura felt rather lazy waking up the next morning. She felt a pleasant little ache which reminded her of what had happened the night before, and she felt very warm -- as warm as she usually felt when sleeping with Naruto in the past, only... more intense, if that made any sense. The only problem was... Naruto wasn't in bed with her, and there was some odd rustling noise shifting around across the room. 

"Naruto-kun?" She called softly, blinking her eyes open to focus them on the blond-haired blur which was over by her travel pack. "What are you doing, and why aren't you here with me?"

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "Being stupidly hopeful, like I usually am," he said. There was something... pained in his voice, and Sakura was suddenly very concerned.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" she asked hurridly, coming awake instantly.

Naruto smiled bitterly. "It's nothing. Come on, let's go back to sleep."

"No, it is something," Sakura insisted. "You can't fool me on this one. Tell me, Naruto-kun... what is wrong?"

Naruto seemed to debate something with himself before nodding slightly. "Well... your father did say that maybe I should talk with you about this. It's just... I was just hoping that you might have brought the... the bracers with you, and would be wearing them after this."

"The bracers..." Sakura repeated, her voice trailing off as she realized what he was saying. "Oh. I... Naruto-kun, I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to wear them just yet."

Naruto winced. "I... I think I knew that. But... but why? Are you ashamed of me? Do you really not want to get married, and are just... just humoring me or something? I--"

"Now stop that right now!" she snapped, rolling out of bed to march over to them. They were both still completely nude, but the seriousness of the discussion prevented them from caring... although Naruto's eyes widened as she approached. "I am not ashamed of you, and I know you aren't so brittle as to fall apart if I said I didn't want to marry you. And, to tell you the truth, I'm not ashamed of letting people know you are my fiance, and have on several occasions."

"But--"

"Naruto-kun... we live in Blossom. Everyone in Blossom knows we're dating -- in fact, that we're living together. Most probably assume we've been doing what we did last night for many months. And, let me assure you, there is nothing I can offer you as your fiance that I am not offering you now," Sakura proclaimed. "In fact, there is only one thing more that I would offer you as your _wife_ -- and that is children. And I'm not ready to have children, yet, married or not, so you aren't missing out on anything."

Naruto shrugged, unable to meet her eyes. "I... I know that. I just... I want to be able to tell people that you're my fiance. I'm proud of having you as my fiance, and I want to shout it to the world. I just... I... Well, at the very least, it would help me feel more like the commitment is more stable. I have your vow, now, and I should be happy with that -- I trust you completely, after all -- but... but somehow it's not the same. There are still times when you're gone on a mission and... and I'll go into your room, and lay on your bed, just because the sights and sounds and smells remind me so much of you. And I'll look over and see the bracers hanging there in the closet, and I'll... I'll panic, and..."

"Shh," Sakura soothed, pulling him into her embrace. He was on the verge of tears, and she didn't understand why but she knew it was somehow her fault -- his fears, his paranoia, but her fault. Perhaps it was just because she had denied him for so many years, perhaps it was the lingering fear that Sasuke could come back, perhaps it was simply the fear that one of them could die before the day they married -- a fear every ninja had -- but whatever reason, he was scared. And upset. And it was her fault, because she wasn't ready to wear the bracers for him. It was just as silly of a fear for her -- because, to her, those bracers would be a symbol of her retirement as a kunoichi. She, like her mother before her, intended to end her career as an active ninja when she settled down to have a family, and those bracers -- the symbol of her impending marriage to this man -- were also a symbol of having a family. And she wasn't ready to end her career, nor to have children, and so... so she couldn't wear the bracers for him. Perhaps, however, there was another way to reassure him that this was not an illusion, not a lie, and that she really did intend to marry him one day -- a symbol he could hold, to ensure himself that she was committed to having _his_ children in the future and no others. Releasing him, she said, "Hand me my pack."

Confused but obedient, he handed her the travel pack that he had just been rifling through. Sakura tapped it once, dispelling a minor genjutsu she had placed on it, to reveal a hidden pocket. She reached inside and pulled out a scroll.

"That... looks like a summoning scroll," Naruto said, confused. "But smaller."

"It's a summoning scroll," Sakura agreed. "And the reason it's smaller is because it isn't one of the five greater summons, like the toad contract is for you or the slug contract is for me. But this... this is very important to our future."

"It's sealed," Naruto pointed out, glancing at the wax holding it closed.

"And it will remain sealed... until, at the earliest, I reach the age of twenty two, and at the latest, thirty," Sakura agreed. "If I don't open it by then... I will be violating this contract."

Naruto nodded, frowning. "But... I've never heard of a sealed summoning contract. And won't this be a problem with the slugs?"

Sakura shook her head. "No... because, Naruto-kun... I signed this contract on behalf of our children."

His eyes widened. "Our... children?"

"I am not allowed to open this contract," Sakura explained, "Until we have our first child. This is a contract with the turtles... the only species of ninja animals who would contract with the children of both a toad master and a slug master."

"But--"

"I swore," Sakura continued, not waiting for the inevitable questions. "That I would start trying to have children by the time I turned twenty-four at the latest -- although I can start earlier, and if we succeed in having a child we will be able to open it as early as my turning twenty two. If I break that oath, I lose much -- not just this contract, but any other contract I could possibly make with any other animal species. I will not start trying if I am not married. To you." She paused. "Does that help you realize how strong a commitment I'm making to you?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sakura-chan... this... this is a big risk. What if... what if we can't have kids? What if--"

"If we prove barren... then I will have fulfilled my end of the bargain and this contract will expire after a reasonable period of time to prove that we really have a problem, and we could always adopt -- they will accept an adopted child, if necessary -- but I still must start _trying _by the age of twenty four," Sakura explained. "So... some time, between now and then, I will don those bracers, and then some time later we will go to the hall of records and we will register ourselves as husband and wife. And then we will have the traditional ceremonies, where everyone will be informed that I am your wife. And we will _both_ be able to brag about it. But... I am not ready for children yet, I am not ready to don those bracers yet, and so... so, until then, you will have to remember this, and be assured that I am as fully committed to being your wife as I possibly can be."

Naruto grabbed her, and held her tight. With any other two people, they would probably be damaging bones and crushing internal organs with the force of their embrace, but they were well equipped to handle it. And soon, that embrace was carried over to the bed...

* * *

Any evidence of their newfound closeness was carefully hidden on the journey back to Blossom. After all, they were travelling in the company of Sakura's father, and while he may have supported the relationship and even expected them to have been intimate long before that evening, it wouldn't exactly be a good thing to flaunt in his presence -- as most fathers, he was a bit overprotective where his daughter was concerned. 

After depositing the elder Haruno back at his home, however, they were quick to latch on to one another -- getting as close together as they dared (or rather, as Sakura dared -- Naruto, while not precisely an exhibitionist, would not have cared if they had decided to have hard and dirty sex in full view of the entire village) as they made their way back home. The mission complete, they were both off until the next day, and so they were both looking forward to resuming their little honeymoon-like romp back at their apartment.

However, before they got far they were intercepted by a rather frazzled looking Konohamaru, who was sporting several strange cuts along his arms and face. None of them were especially deep, and they would easily heal without leaving behind any scars, but they were rather bizarre looking -- almost as if he had been touseling with a wild animal.

"Sakura-san! Leader-san! Hey!" he called, running up to them.

"Konohamaru-kun! What in the world happened to you?" Sakura asked, detaching herself from Naruto in order to look over the boys wounds.

"I... I don't know," he replied, sounding quite dazed.

"Those look like animal scratches," Naruto pointed out. "Four claws, so you didn't get into the Inuzuka's dogs, but... you weren't supposed to have been on a mission, yesterday."

"I wasn't!" Konohamaru protested. "And these aren't animal scratches! These are... well, Moegi and I were on a d-date, last night, and as we were getting home... well, this odd look came into her eyes -- they actually turned red! I've never seen that happen before! -- and then... then she turned around and tried to drag me into her apartment. I tried to stop her, but she... she... well, I couldn't! You know how strong she is, and... well, okay, I wasn't resisting that much -- I _like_ Moegi-chan, after all. But then... well, most of these scratches came when she was trying to literally tear off my clothes. The last one..." He pointed to his cheek. "She seemed to realize what she was doing, and then _slapped_ me -- claimed I was taking advantage of her or something like that. Then... well, then she apologized for attacking me like that, said she didn't know what came over her, and threw me out of her apartment. I'm okay, but... I'm really worried about her. Is she going crazy or something?"

Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other briefly. "She's got some of my blood in her," Naruto explained, sighing. "I had to do something to heal her when we were in Cloud."

Sakura's lips twitched with silent laughter as she realized just what had happened. "Don't worry, Konohamaru-kun," she said. "Why don't you go to the hospital and have those cuts treated? I think we know what happened, and we'll talk with her about it."

"Uh, sure," Konohamaru said uncertainly. "Are you sure she'll be okay?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, shaking his head. "We'll make sure of it."

As Konohamaru walked off, Sakura glanced at Naruto with an amused twinkle in her eye. "I guess we have to hold off until we talk to Moegi-chan, huh?"

"Yeah," Naruto said, shaking his head. "Somehow, though, I get the feeling once she learns what just happened... Konohamaru isn't going to be safe, exactly."

* * *

Notes: Well, there ends that rather... interesting chapter. The thing is, I probably didn't need to write it -- at least, not the lemony NC-17 part of it. I'd been mentioning to people that I was going to 'write a lemon chapter' for... well, ages, and actually had plans to reveal certain things for the first time during the lemon. For example, the ability of the kyuubi to act through Sakura just as it does through Naruto (this was supposed to be the first time for that to happen, and not during Sakura's preparation battle with the Cloud in the Chuunin Exam storyline), the interesting notion that it isn't just in the heat of mortal combat that kyuubi can break free (although that, certainly, was made a bit clearer by the lemon, I hope), the extent of kyuubi healing powers, and so on, and so forth. All things which have already been covered, although perhaps not nearly as blatantly, in previous chapters. By the time I sat down to write this one, I realized I'd already covered everything I needed to cover... save for Naruto and Sakura losing thier virginity to each other. And there was no need to write a lemon about that. So, I didn't need to write it for the story... but I had been advertising it for so long, and had so many requests for it, that I truly felt I had no choice in the end but to write it, or else I would be 'disappointing' at least some of my readers. In the end, I think the scenes themselves turned out just fine, and I felt that I did make the points I had intended to make all along with them, even if those points had already been made before and all this was doing was reinforcing them, and I did include at least a few very minor hints at certain additional details regarding kyuubi's abilities, albeit minor ones, coming up in the future with this chapter... and I did emphasize what I'd brought up last chapter, about Naruto starting to feel a bit uncertain regarding the whole 'secret' part of the 'secret engagement' thing, and used the 'Sakura makes a contract with the turtles' thing I wrote about in the last story arc -- something for which the true relevance won't appear until the sequel. I also managed to interject a little bit of humor into the mix, which I was pleased about, during the dinner scene. All in all, the lemon chapter, which was supposed to include about a dozen major revelations when I first worked it out, turned out to be little more then filler. There's also the little bit of MoegiKonohamaru at the end, but that could have happened without the explicit scenes. Ah, well -- them's the breaks. 

Next chapter: Years have passed (believe it or not) without anything too significant happening to our heroes -- although perhaps our genin and chuunin are a little older. But what does Ino find when she goes hunting for one of her delinquint team members? Yes, this is the opening chapter of Volume 3's finale -- a storyline which likely will take several chapters to resolve. Not surprising, when you consider just what IS being resolved, here.


	57. V3 Chapter 47

Volume 3

Notes: I've had numerous complaints about the chapters getting 'shorter.' They aren't -- in fact, this chapter and the past eight chapters are all somewhere between 4,000 words and 7,000 words (in the censored version -- the last one was actually about 12,000 words in the uncensored version)... which is thelength rangeof 38of this ficschapters. 10 are longer, nine are shorter... so they're roughly the same length as most of the chapters in this fic. I'm not sure where that perception is coming from.

Well, this isn't going to be the chapter I said it would be, I think. As I started to write it, I realized I'd forgotten something important that had to happen before Ino's chapter. Oops. It's nevertheless still three years later, however (exactly three years), and it's still the start of the Volume 3 conclusion arc. I'm just ordering things a bit differently, to smooth the transition out a bit.

I can't believe the number of people who kept asking me about people's ages. Um... last chapter was Sakura's eighteenth birthday -- I would think it would be easy enough to figure out from that. And now it's three years (to the day) later -- now, if you can't do that math, then my apologies... but Sakura's age is mentioned in the very first paragraph, so perhaps that will help.

I AM NOT GOING TO HELP YOU FIND THE UNCENSORED COPIES any further then I already have. I've mentioned -- REPEATEDLY -- that it is available on Mediaminer, but you have to be sure when searching that you adjust the ratings properly since the default search setting is below the rating that I graded this fic (in other words, I rated the fic at the R-equivalent there, but the search engine only checks for fics at the PG-13 or less equivalent unless told otherwise). It is now also available on the brand spanking new Heaven and Earth Fanfiction Library, which had some teething troubles upon posting this fic that denied some people (it appears to have been, in part, a browser issue -- some browsers apparently didn't 'take' the cookie that was used for Age Verification) the ability to see the chapter in question, but that has since been corrected, or at least a stop-gap measure has been implimented to allow you to read it. HOWEVER, as I feared, I recieved over thirty requests that I 'point the way' to the uncensored chapter. I WILL NOT DO THIS. If I did it for one person, I would have to do it for everybody... and, quite frankly, I have better things to spend my time doing than that.

Before asking a question like 'How did Moegi get a link to the kyuubi?' please check back and make sure this hasn't already been answered in the story -- in this particular case, several other reviewers made the point before I could, but I had made a point of it to explain that Moegi was somewhat effected by the healing technique Naruto used on her in the Cloud Chuunin Exam arc.

* * *

Chapter 47 

Sakura shook her head, glancing through the medical charts and records of her latest patient. Today, she turned twenty-one, and Naruto had planned a rather decent celebration for her, for once. The fact that he was relying largely on Hana and Ino for advice in how to arrange it wasn't important -- as trite as it was to say, the thought genuinely counted. That he, a professional ninja with ten years experience who war rising to legendary status throughout... most of the world (the citizens of Konoha were still largely -- and, in many cases, intentionally -- ignorant of his success), couldn't hide his plans for a surprise party from her was, perhaps, something that was more important, however. He had proven to be quite capable of keeping secrets, over the years -- even from her, when it was necessary -- but somehow it had been let slip.

Regardless, she knew she was supposed to be 'surprised' by this party he was throwing, and knew enough of the plans to believe that she would enjoy it... and it looked as if this patient could make her late. Once 'Blossom Team 2,' the team she had been made the jounin-sensei of a little more then three years before, had all finally completed their chuunin exams (two years behind all three of Naruto's students, who had all taken and passed the test within five months... much to Sakura's chagrin. It turned out that he could get his team ready for the promotion at a record pace... which was a bit frustrating, as she had been hoping it would be one thing she could beat him at. Still, it wasn't all him -- Inari, Adaha, and Umiko had turned out to be the premiere genin of that class of the Blossom Academy) she had been reassigned back into the hospital part-time, only involving herself with her team only during B rank missions... or one of the very few A rank missions Blossom had just started accepting. Chikan had been made her nominal second-in-command, and proved to be an adequate leader... and he had long since learned that while he might be a pervert, directing his attentions toward Sakura was bad for his health. That knowledge had allowed them to co-exist, at least, and she had grown to trust his ability to keep the team together during C and D class missions.

She had finally been able to institute a policy she had been advocating since Blossom's early months, thanks to that reassignment. Now, every ninja had to come to the hospital and take a physical periodically (the exact period of time between check-ups had not been decided, but they were still making arrangements for people to have their first physicals so that didn't matter too much). The work-load had been divided between her, Shizune, and the three medical ninja who had just completed their training right as Sakura's team had passed their exams. She had seen many friends pass through the hospitals halls for these exams -- including Naruto, who was actually healthier then he had been since becoming a ninja, thanks in part to her good care making sure that he healed _properly_ when hurt -- he always healed quickly, but often bones would heal slightly misaligned or nerves would regenerate in the wrong location or... well, there were a variety of 'mistakes' the kyuubi would make that she could repair when she noticed it... and she would _always_ notice it at the end of the day, when they were in bed together. She was starting to worry that he'd develop a medical fetish, considering how often she was associating her medical examinations with their nightly 'play.'

Other results, however, were showing that her policy was a good idea. Namely, the person she was working on that night -- the legendary Jiraiya himself.

"Jiraiya-sama," she began respectfully -- after all, he had taught her and Naruto a lot over the years, and was worthy of respect... even if he was still one of the most lecherous men she'd ever met. He had yet to annoy her with his perversions, after all... although she'd heard a lot of interesting rumors coming from Kireme about him. She'd also come to respect the 'intelligence network' he had developed with brothels all around the world. It was from them they learned of the death of other Akatsuki over the years -- Sasuke had been systematically hunting them down in his effort to reach Itachi, it seemed, and now only three were known to still be alive: Itachi, an underling whose name was yet to be discovered, and someone she didn't know called Zetsu. Akatsuki still had rather impressive resources, however, and they had apparently recruited others over the years... but those three were all that was left of the original organization. And, last she'd heard, they were operating in Grass territory... which meant things were moving closer to them. Sasuke was returning, it seemed, but only because Itachi looked to be coming closer as well.

"Yes?" the old ninja replied. While he had aged well, there were obvious signs that he was now past his prime. Liver spots were just starting to show on his hands, deep wrinkles started to grow around his eyes and lips, and as far as his teeth went... well, there was still not much to 'ninja dentisty' outside of hollowing out teeth for the purposes of concealing things. He still had all his teeth, but they were now a fine ivory yellow instead of a fine ivory white. For a ninja, he had aged well, and Sakura supposed he didn't look too bad for a man in his sixties. Ninja lead hard lives, after all, and just living that long was a major achievement for one. But his external appearance was hiding some pretty disturbing things going on inside.

"I've gone through your medical records," she said. "At one time, you had more chakra then anyone in this village -- not counting Naruto-kun, of course."

"Of course," Jiraiya acknowledged.

"To be blunt, right now several of the most recent class of Academy students could muster the same amount of chakra that you have."

The once legendary ninja shook his head tiredly. "Yeah. Well, I'm about ten years past my prime, so I'm entitled to some chakra degredation. My eyes are going and my right knee can't bend straight any more, either, and... well, I haven't been training much. I've switched to our reserve forces, you know."

"Some decline is expected with age, yes," Sakura agreed. "But not this much. This is like... like you've got some sort of illness, or disease... or something draining your chakra."

Jiraiya grinned. "Try the last one. But I can't tell you about it -- need to know."

"But--"

"It's just a slow drain on my chakra," he sighed, forstalling any protests. "I'm retired -- I can spare it. It took almost ten years of drain to get me to this point, and I've probably only got to endure it another two or three years -- possibly less, depending on how certain things go. I can handle it, and then... then I should bounce back a bit, but probably not to my old levels. Which is just fine."

Sakura sighed. "Well, if it's that important. You realize I'm going to have to tell Naruto? He often makes plans assuming you're just as strong as you used to be, which would be disastrous nowadays." She paused, an odd thought entering her head. "Almost ten years... does this have anything to do with whatever it was you did to disappoint Naruto-kun so during that business with the Rainbow about four years ago?"

Jiraiya looked surprised, then nodded. "Well, perhaps. I guess it's been more like eight years, come to think of it, as I remember the fourth anniversary of the event which made me start this chakra drain took place was during that time, and I wanted a drink to celebrate..."

"Event?" Sakura said, looking puzzled.

"Ah, never mind!" he quickly replied, waving off any questions. "I've said too much already. Anyway... I've already explained this chakra thing, as well as telling you all the other ailments I've been experiencing lately. Can we get this over with?"

"I'll give you a prescription for an anti-inflamatory -- that should help with your knee," Sakura said, scribbling something down on her chart. "I'm also going to recommend you to a civilian opthamologist in Wave City -- Tazuna-dono directed us to him, since we have no-one here to deal with normal eye problems. I also want you to exercise more, even if you don't make that exercise a training session, and... well, there are a few herbal treatments out there to help people deal with negative chakra. A few of them aren't exactly safe to use on a regular basis, but I might be able to scrounge up something that should at least ease the physical damage of whatever is draining you."

Jiraiya blanched. "I'll never remember to take all that medicine, and my eyes are still good enough I shouldn't need glasses. Really, it's--"

"No," Sakura growled. "Look, Naruto-kun looks up to you as some sort of father figure, though god knows why. He's had few enough people like that in his life, so I'm going to make sure the ones he has found stick around for a long time. Which means... your health is _my_ priority. You will be taking these medicines, even if I have to show up at your apartment every morning and force them down your throat. Got it?"

"But--"

"Trust me," she continued, grinning dangerously. "I know you're one of the most experienced ninja in the world, and know tens of thousands of techniques. But I've got quite a few techniques of my own, now, and thanks to Naruto-kun and the 'dangerous' guest someone decided to seal up in his belly button, I've now got more chakra available to me then most ninja. You, on the other hand, probably don't have enough chakra left to use most of your more powerful techniques. I think I could force them down your throat if I wanted."

A twinge of fear shown in the old ninja's face. "I don't doubt it. Fine... I'll take the medicine. But I'm not going to any eye doctors! Not until my eyes start giving me problems. I used to have better then normal eyesight, and now I think it's just average... but there's no need for me to get glasses, got it?"

Sakura looked at him for a long moment, then nodded after deciding he was telling the truth. "Fine. But I'll give you the doctor's name, anyway, in case the need ever arises."

"Fine, fine," Jiraiya acquiesced. "Can we finish this soon?"

"Sure," Sakura laughed, handing him several sheets of paper for the pharmacy and another with a referral notice to the eye doctor in Wave. "Now, I've got a party to get to, myself, so I'll let you dress and leave on your own."

"You know about the party?" Jiraiya asked, sounding horrified.

"Oh, come on," she said. "Naruto's planning it -- do you _really_ think he'd be able to keep something like this a secret from me?"

* * *

Sakura was almost out the door of the hospital when a yellow blur buzzed by her, carrying a large bundle greatly resembling a girl. She staggered back after nearly being run over and blinked, turning around to follow the afterimage. "Naruto-kun?" 

Her inattention caused her to be hit by a trailing blur, knocking both her and the blur off their feet and sprawled out over the floor. This blur was black-haired, and almost as familiar.

"Oops, sorry Sakura-san," Konohamaru said, stumbling to his feet. "But I gotta run. Sorry."

She watched as he once more ran off, and shook her head. "Now what... oh!"

With a grin on her face, she started following at a much more sedate pace. She knew where they were going, and almost certainly knew why: The first couple married in Blossom (probably not the first engaged, as she thought she and Naruto would have that distinction, but the first married) was about to have another first -- they were about to have their first child.

Konohamaru and Moegi had been attached since their early days, had been playmates since preschool and had always been together. It was little surprise to anyone when they got married. What was a surprise was their age -- at fourteen, they were engaged, and they were married at fifteen. It looked like they'd start raising a family at sixteen... which, come to think of it, was old for starting a family in some older ninja villages like Konoha, thanks to the dominant clan systems... although it was surprisingly young for Wave Country, and had been something of a scandal among the ninja recruited as cadets from the surrounding civilian towns and villages -- although some ninja (such as all of Naruto's team) were working towards emulating their example, as the four-way relationship involving Adaha, Inari, Ran Umiko, and Hyuuga Hanabi had recently come to light. There were no wedding plans in any of their future, but that they were living together and that they weren't exactly concerned if one of their number walked around the apartment without any clothes on had been discovered quite dramatically after a serious chemical explosion at a nearby armoury forced the evacuation of their residential building, in addition to many others around the area. Sakura had already known about it, however, having been the one to teach both Hanabi and Umiko the appropriate ninja birth control techniques... but this, coming on the heels of Moegi's announced pregnancy, had caused the first major contraversy with Blossom and its host country of Wave. Ino had been pulled off her team to be part of an emergency diplomatic mission to the capital to resolve the 'moral concerns raised' by the issue. That, however, was a minor issue for most of Blossom's residents -- there was actually a great deal of joy that one of their 'first couples' was having their first child.

Neonatal was an area of responsibility that was beyond Sakura's expertise, but as the former hospital administrator she was well aware of the competency of their doctors and was quite comfortable that nothing would go wrong. Considering how relaxed Naruto was when she finally caught up with him (by then, relieved of his burden), it seemed he believed it as well. "Hey," she called.

"Hi," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head in that adoringly cute way (to Sakura, anyway) he always did when he was embarrassed. "Um, sorry about almost trampling you back there, but... well, it was an emergency."

Sakura laughed. "It's okay, although Konohamaru-kun stopped by a few seconds later to plow me over as well. Moegi-chan's in labor, right?"

"Yeah. I was at home -- uh, and, ah, we were..."

"Decorating for the surprise party you were trying to keep secret from me," Sakura nodded with an amused grin. "Go on."

"You knew about that? Darn! I guess I need to talk to Kakashi-sensei and ero-sennin about more lessons in covert operational planning," Naruto sighed. "Anyway, there was a bit of shouting from one of the groups of people setting things up, and so I ran over to see what was going on. Um, we're going to need to rent a carpet cleaner, because Moegi-chan's water broke in our living room."

Sakura sighed. "Well, it could have been worse -- she could have been in our bedroom, or your office." The 'office,' as Sakura called it, used to be her bedroom in Naruto's apartment. Some time, about two and a half years or so ago, they realized she never used the room except as a storage closet... and therefore, she moved into Naruto's bedroom and converted the other room into an office from which Naruto would be running what she and several of the others who knew about Naruto's secret connections in the administration of Blossom referred to jokingly as his 'shadow government.' Operations had expanded to include herself, Ino (who had developed something of a friendship with Kireme following the incidents surrounding the Cloud Village chuunin exam, and so was involving her as an informant in much the same way Jiraiya used brothels as informants... although Ino was never a client of a brothel's services), Hanabi (who in turn had formed a 'cell' organization within her little harem), Hana (who worked with Futaba and Futaba's boyfriend-of-the-moment and teammate, Daichi), Konohamaru (who until recently involved Moegi whenever he could), and Anko (who claimed to be using a few people to help, but wouldn't say a word about who they were), and together they moved -- in secret -- to counter many of the 'deficiencies' of Kakashi's administration. It wasn't that their former sensei was proving to be a bad leader, although that reputation was growing among many present in Blossom and in Konoha, so much as it was he seemed to be running things fairly well until there was some sort of massive blunder -- bad contracts with various firms and supply companies, taking missions which Blossom really wasn't equipped to handle or which went against the ethical code usually used to determine whether a mission would be accepted or rejected, mishandling certain civilian disputes, and so on. Naruto couldn't fix all of them -- especially not alone -- but together, they were keeping roughly 90 of these 'oddities' from doing any damage to the village or its reputation.

"Not really," Naruto said. "We weren't decorating the bedroom and I had the office sealed up because we have some sensitive documents in storage there at the moment, and some of the guests weren't, uh, cleared to see them. So, it was really about the worst possibly place she could have been to go into labor."

"Ah," Sakura replied. Well, that told her one thing she had been wondering -- apparently, some of the guests were outside of their inner circle. The only ones she could think of who she thought would be likely to be invited to her birthday party were her parents, but they had enough knowledge about Naruto's 'shadow government' to be allowed into the office when there wasn't active work going on. "Well, we'll worry about that later. Are we going to wait here for Konohamaru to come out and tell us he's officially a father, or do we just go on home and do this party thing?"

"Well, I dunno. How long does it take for a woman to give birth?" Naruto asked. "I'm, uh, a bit unclear on that."

Sakura snorted. "I'll say. How much of sex ed did you actually pay attention to when we went to the Academy?"

Naruto blushed. "Um... I learned a few things!"

She laughed and kissed him. "You learned absolutely nothing, Naruto-kun, and you know it. I had to teach you just about everything... including why I wasn't dying when you found my used pads in the trash."

He squirmed in embarrassment. "Hey! I thought you said you wouldn't bring that up again."

"I did?" Sakura replied, faking confusion. "I thought I said I'd hold it over you for the rest of our lives..."

"Sakura-chan..." he pleaded.

She laughed, kissing him again. "We girls all act differently when we're pregnant, and sometimes differently every time we get pregnant. I've heard of girls going from having their water break to full delivery in under an hour, and I've heard of other cases where labor lasts days. It really depends on a lot of factors, and even we ninja aren't able to figure them all out."

Naruto hesitated. "Any clue about Moegi-chan's case?"

"I'd need to see her chart," Sakura said. "And to know how far apart her contractions are. And there are a few other details I'd need to know..."

"In other words, no," he sighed. "Well... we've got guests waiting for us at home, and no way of knowing when Konohamaru will be able to join us -- or even if he will be able to. We'll leave a message with the nurses station that he can join us and announce the baby's birth if he wants."

"I hope she gets born soon," Sakura said, taking his arm as they made their way down the hallway.

"Why? Do you want Konohamaru at your party that much?" Naruto asked.

Sakura laughed. "No... but I think it would be neat if I shared a birthday with our godchild."

* * *

"Tazuna-dono! Tsunami-san! I certainly didn't expect to see you here," Sakura called, greeting the partygoers as she made her way through the room. The obligatory things like gift exchanges and birthday cake had been dispensed with, and now there was little more to do then to mill around and socialize. Everyone else in the room was in their little 'shadow government,' or at least (like her parents) were aware of its existence... but Tazuna and Tsunami were unexpected guests... and, likely, the reasons the office was sealed up (and, Sakura noticed, Naruto genuinely meant sealed -- anyone who broke the band of tape he'd covered the door with, without first applying the proper type of blood on it, would trigger enough explosive tags to bring down the entire apartment complex). 

"I wouldn't have expected you to expect to see _anyone_ here," Tazuna replied, amused. "This is a surprise party, after all."

"Please," Sakura snorted. "I knew about this thing weeks ago."

"Oh? How was that? I wouldn't think discovering a surprise party to be one of the things you would normally use the spying skills you ninja have on," Tsunami replied.

Sakura blushed slightly. "Um... Naruto talks in his sleep sometimes."

Tazuna laughed, his voice drowning out most of the surrounding conversation. "Is that so? I'd think that would be hazardous for a ninja."

She grimmaced. "It is." She paused, then laughed. "But fortunately, I'm the only one who's ever around to hear him, so I suppose it's okay. So, if you're here, that must mean Ino-chan is back, right?"

"She should be by shortly. She was going to check in, first -- we just got here, ourselves," Tsunami explained.

"Here she comes, now," Tazuna added, pointing to the door.

"Sakura-chan!" Ino called, walking over to the conversing trio. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Ino-chan," Sakura replied, grinning. "So, where's my present?"

"Har, har. You know I haven't had a chance to get home, yet," Ino replied sourly. "But I do have something for you... and for Naruto-dono. Where is he?"

"Hospital," she replied. "Moegi's giving birth right now. He was here for the start of the party, and he'll be back later, but Konohamaru called asking for him to bring some personal items for while he was waiting."

"Wow! I'll have to go see him and congradulate him. You'd better, too, before you leave," Ino suggested.

"Leave? Am I going somewhere?" Sakura asked, purplexed.

"You and Naruto have a mission together -- with both of your teams," Ino explained, then nodded over at Tazuna. "Courtesy of our host country."

Tazuna grimmaced. "You're getting that already? Sorry about that -- there really wasn't a priority on it."

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, curious. "I haven't heard anything in the pipeline... and I would have."

"No, it never hit the standard channels," Ino sexplained, shaking her head. "Direct communique between Wave's daimyo and Kakashi-san. I didn't even get a chance to look at it, myself."

"So what's going on?" Sakura repeated, turning on Tazuna. "You seem to know something about this."

"It's this whole mess with the 'scandals' involving the baby being born right now," Tazuna sighed. "It's rather bizarre that there would be such a public outcry over this little thing. Their age doesn't exactly match the normal age of married couples in Wave Country, but it isn't completely unheard of. I know ninja have been known to marry even younger then they did -- I've heard you can get married as young as twelve -- but fifteen or sixteen isn't really too young around here. The previous daimyo married at fourteen, even, in an arranged marriage."

"I imagine Inari being 'caught' in this situation hasn't helped your political situation, either," Sakura suggested.

"Well, yes," Tazuna admitted, looking mildly chagrined. "Having a close family member of mine being involved in a related 'scandal' is undermining my authority. Not significantly -- I'll still be prime minister regardless -- but it is weakening my influence over the legislature. I don't understand it at all..."

"We think someone is trying to soften up our country," Tsunami explained. "It's just how Gatoh was able to move in so easily -- first, organizations loosely affiliated with his came in, undermining the civilian authority, and then he used that political chaos to get laws passed which brought his company in to 'exclusively' control all importing and exporting. Gatoh essentially usurped control from the civilian authority's ability to control shipping, and... well, you saw what he did with it. In another year or two, if we hadn't built that bridge and he hadn't been killed, he probably would have taken complete control over the country, and there would be nothing anyone could do about it."

"We think someone is trying that, again," Tazuna continued. "We've traced the origins of the civil unrest to an outlying fishing village -- it spread out from there to other towns and cities throughout Wave. We asked Kakashi-sensei to send a couple teams out to look for it -- as an S-rank mission, not an A-rank."

Sakura nodded, although she felt rather nervous inside. S-rank missions often had either P-tags or S-tags. A P-tag meant a the strong likelihood that at least one team member would be killed. An S-tag... would mean certain death for all involved. Whenever a 'S' rank mission was assigned, a ninja always knew it might also be a suicide mission... and every ninja, Sakura included, always hoped to never recieve a suicide mission. "Fixed amount. Straight S, or greater?"

"Straight S," Tazuna replied reassuringly. "We don't really know what to expect from it -- we know it's pretty serious, if our suspicions are correct -- but we don't see any point in asking you to fight to your deaths if someone strikes out at you. If you are attacked, the mere fact that someone tries to strike out at you is evidence enough that we have a problem, and that should be enough to correct the civil problems we're having."

Sakura smiled half-heartedly. "Well, Naruto-kun will be happy. He's always looking for a new challenge... and I suspect this mission will be a bit of a challenge."

* * *

Next chapter: I guess I'd just be repeating myself if I explained, but here goes. Ino goes hunting for a missing member of her team. 


	58. V3 Chapter 48

Volume 3

* * *

Chapter 48

Ino growled in frustration. The weather was getting bad -- she just saw a snowflake fall, which she hadn't seen since she was three -- and she was bitterly cold. Her mission -- which was the sort of assignment usually given to Konohamaru, Moegi, Hanabi, or Futaba and thier teams of genin from the Second Academy Class of Blossom -- wasn't starting off too well. She would have passed it on to one of them, in fact, but Konohamaru was busy being a new father, Moegi was recovering from just giving birth, Hanabi was nowhere to be found, and Futaba was on a diplomatic assignment at the daimyo's castle (which made some sense, as Futaba's team included, on it, one of the royal family members -- Shuuha Onritou, the son of the daimyo who Genma had died to protect). Yet she knew her team trying to undertake this assignment would be a pure disaster the moment she heard of it, and it seemed as if she was right.

Naruto and Sakura were long gone for their S-rank mission, but she had yet to even assemble her team... and she was supposed to have left before them. Not that her mission was all that important or dangerous -- a class C mission escorting a trade caravan, little likelyhood of any actual combat, something really beneath her now veteran team, usually... except they really weren't supposed to be assigned missions ranking higher then C-rate. Of all of the graduates of the First Academy Class of Blossom who remained ninja at the conclusion of their 'final exam' training, the three people on her team was alone in not making the promotion to chuunin. Even the administrative and medical genin had managed promotions through the administrative system. However, none of her cadets were exactly pleasant people, and all three of them had been almost impossible to work with. The most disciplined of the lot was, surprisingly, Seiteki Pansuke... and Pansuke had recently started acting very strange. Like she wanted to tell Ino something, but was afraid to say it. Ino suspected the girl was pregnant, and was afraid that she'd lose her spot in the roster on the team, but that would be rather odd, in itself. As many had felt from her first day in the Academy, she had indeed proven to be an early entry candidate into the courtesan training program... and had excelled, graduating at a younger age then anyone else. It was forbidden for her to be assigned on missions which required the use of those skills, but she still knew all of them... including, theoretically, birth control techniques. If she had become pregnant accidentally... well, then Pansuke deserved to be knocked off the roster.

The other two, however, were even stranger. They were constantly disappearing at all times, avoiding training sessions and blowing off some missions. They were hostile and insubordinate to the point that, on combat missions, Ino was constantly watching her own back to make sure they wouldn't stab her in it. In terms of skill level, they should have well surpassed the chuunin level, already... but as teamwork was a major component of two thirds of the exam, and as they had never been a true 'team' for Ino, she had refused to sign off on their promotion recommendations for every exam. Surprisingly, Pansuke -- who Ino had pegged as the least ambitious of the trio -- was the only one who seemed to care about the lack of promotions. The other two were pleased with their roles, it seemed.

She had just gotten off the phone with the supposed caravan's leader, who seemed to know nothing about the mission when she called to postpone, when the first of her wayward flock finally appeared. Pansuke, looking very nervous, showed up at their rendezvous... more then twenty minutes late. Ino would have been furious with her... except for how nervous she seemed. Just what was going on with her team, anyway?

"Pansuke," Ino snapped, ignoring the usual honorific... as she usually did when she was pissed off. "Why are you late? And where are the others?"

The younger girl looked so anxious she was actually trembling. "They went to the bro... uh, I don't know," she said, flushing and looking down. It was the first time Ino had ever seen her blush about anything, which really made her wonder about what was going on.

"Look, Pansuke-san," Ino began comfortingly. "I know something's wrong. What is it?"

Pansuke looked terrified. "I... I can't tell you."

"Sure you can," Ino replied. "You're one of my genin -- which means it's my job to look out for you." The other girl just shook her head, unable to meet Ino's eyes. "Please, just trust me? If... if you're pregnant or something, Konoha and Blossom have a generous benefits for its kunoichi that--"

"Pregnant?" Pansuke cried incredulously. "Impossible, if those ninja birth control techniques are what they're cracked up to be. No... this is... much more serious then that."

Ino's eyes widened. So, Pansuke was admitting there was something wrong -- which was an improvement. But she was saying it was 'more serious' then pregnancy -- which, to Ino, was a pretty serious thing. "Well, then what is it?"

The younger kunoichi blinked, as if realizing what she just said, and stepped back. "Look, I said I can't tell you, and so I want. If you want to know the answer... well, head to the brothel."

"The... the brothel? But--"

However, there was suddenly no-one for Ino to ask questions of, as Pansuke utilized the espionage techniques she had spent more then three years perfecting to disappear on her. _Now what am I supposed to do?_ Ino wondered. _Just what the hell is going on around here?_

* * *

"Ino-chan!" Anko called, running up to the blond girl as she spied her walking along the road -- the first person on the road she'd seen in the past ten minutes, as the first serious snow storm in the four-plus years of Blossom's existence had just blown into town. "I thought you were supposed to be out on a mission today -- at least, that's what you said at last night's birthday party. Did something come up?"

Ino glared at the older woman. Now into her fourties, Anko still acted like a teenager, most of the time... although a world-weary teenager, it seemed. Today, however, she was decidedly 'peppy,' which just grated on the younger woman's nerves. If anything could set Ino off right then, it was someone acting, well, happy.

"Did something come up?" Ino repeated sourly. "Hm, let's see. A blizzard just decided it was going to pop in unexpectedly about an hour ago. Two members of my team seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth. The third has been acting strange these past few weeks, and just told me there was something very important bothering them but they couldn't say what, and that if I wanted to know I would have to 'head to the brothel' before they, too, decided to disappear. Oh, and the caravan I was supposed to escort knows nothing about this mission they supposedly hired us to do! Other than that, well, no, nothing's come up."

Anko winced. "Ouch. That sounds pretty serious. Who was it who actually showed up, anyway?"

"Seiteki Pansuke. Not my best team member in terms of ability, but probably the most reliable," Ino sighed. "And if you know her at all, you'll know that _that's_ saying something. It's not all that strange -- my team has disappeared on me before when they haven't had missions in a while, so they're a bit hard to keep track of. I sent messages to them all last night about this mission, but I have no proof that they recieved those messages. The really strange things were how Pansuke-san was acting and that my mission doesn't really seem to exist."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "Yes, those are rather strange things. So, what are you going to do, now?"

"Well, what choice do I have?" Ino huffed. "I'm going to the brothel to see if I can figure out what Pansuke-san was talking about, and then I'll see if I can get in touch with Kakashi-san about the mission. I stopped by his office a few minutes ago, but he wasn't there."

"He wasn't there?" Anko echoed sharply. "Are you sure of that? He wasn't just using the restrooms or something like that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ino replied bitterly. "I waited a good twenty minutes, and his secretary says he'd already had breakfast. I don't know where he is, but he isn't there."

Anko nodded slowly, then put on a smile that the other woman had only ever seen on Naruto, before. "Interesting. Well, why don't you head on over to the brothel? I think I'd better see if I can... _find_... Kakashi-sama for you."

"Thanks, Anko-chan," Ino replied, grinning slightly. "I'm a bit relieved to have some help on this one."

Anko nodded, waving the blond girl away with a cheesy smile. Once she was out of sight, that smile dropped. "So, it's started, has it?" she muttered. "Well, now... I guess I'd better get to work."

* * *

Moegi shifted tiredly in her hospital bed, gazing up at Konohamaru softly. She was truly happy to have finally caught the boy, and hoped they could manage as parents together without being overwhelmed -- there was so much talk about how they were 'too young' she couldn't help that nagging feeling that they would have a hard time. The one thing she regretted was how much training she was losing out on. It would take months to work off all the body fat she'd accumulated while pregnant, and she couldn't go back on duty, even in a reserve capacity, for several weeks, at least, while she recovered from childbirth. As a new parent, she would be restricted to class D missions for the next two years, minimum -- which was perfectly fine, as her team of genin wasn't exactly ready for anything more -- but she felt it was worth it to be with Konohamaru.

Something was making her uncomfortable, though, and she wasn't quite sure what it was. A disturbing feeling, one that she had never felt before... and rather alien in origin. She couldn't quite understand it. She knew it was snowing -- she could see it from the hospital bed's window -- but that wasn't what was bothering her.

"Moegi-chan?" Konohamaru began hesitantly.

"Yes, Konohamaru-chan?" Moegi replied, attempting some playfulness despite her exhaustion.

He grimmaced, as he always did when she used that particular honorific... which might explain her fondness for it when she was being 'playful.' "Your eyes are red again. I don't care what Sakura-chan and Naruto-san are doing, you aren't in any shape for it."

Ever since Naruto and Sakura had (blushingly) come to have a talk -- one that eventually included him, as well -- about how the healing technique Naruto used on Moegi had induced a slight empathic link with the kyuubi and just what that entailed, Konohamaru had been watchful. It wasn't that he disliked Moegi during one of her 'kyuubi highs,' as he liked to call them -- she was always 'friskier' whenever she had one -- it was that, on occasion, it would come at an... inopportune time. This led to quite a few embarrassing encounters, and so he had taken to try and staving off the symptoms whenever he saw the 'warning signs.'

"They aren't doing anything," Moegi replied, shaking her head. "At least nothing like that. But that could explain what I've been feeling..."

"What are you feeling?" Konohamaru asked, concerned.

"I... I'm not sure," she replied, trying to search her feelings for more definitive answers, now that she understood their origins. "I think... I think kyuubi's anxious about something -- almost scared -- but he isn't able to 'get through' to Naruto and Sakura. It's not an immediate crisis, yet, whatever it is, but... but he needs to warn them about something. I think. He can't really talk to me, you know, I just get a sort of 'backwash' of his stronger emotions."

Konohamaru frowned. "But they just left town about three hours ago on a mission, and they can't have gotten anywhere where they would be in trouble, yet. Unless..."

"Unless whatever the trouble is was waiting for them," Moegi replied, sitting up slowly. "Husband, something is very wrong. They have to be warned -- of what, I'm not sure, but of something. You... you _need_ to go and tell them."

"Tell them what?" Konohamaru asked.

"Tell them to listen to kyuubi," Moegi replied anxiously. "Whatever this thing is... it's something he's battled with, before. And he's frightened. I... I don't need you here right now, however much I want you here. They do. Find them, husband, and tell them. Listen to kyuubi."

Konohamaru hesitated, standing up very slowly. "But... how will I even find them? I don't know where they're going, or what their mission is. And you know how hard it can be to track them... I'll never catch them in time."

Moegi shook her head, trying to clear it. "Kakashi-sama would know. Find him. And when you go... take your team with you, and mine. And whatever other help you can find -- I don't know what is going on... but it's big."

* * *

Ino sighed. While she found that she liked some of the people who worked in the brothel, the place itself was not her favorite place to be. However, after trying any number of alternative solutions for either finding her team members or starting her mission, it seemed as if the only lead she had for where her genin might be was Pansuke's cryptic comment about finding... whatever it was that was bothering the girl.

_Knowing her,_ Ino thought wryly, _She's upset because her teammates are using the brothel's services instead of her own._ Shaking her head to knock the snow off her hair, she pulled open the one-way-glass door and stepped inside. Four or five young women in the employ of the brothel looked up expectently before their expressions fell to one of mild disappointment, but that wasn't true of everyone.

"Ino-chan!" the madame called, pumping her legs as she puttered over to greet her. "You wouldn't happen to be here to take us up on that job opportunity, would you?"

Ino grinned slightly, unable to help herself. It was something of a running joke, the brothel's attempts to recruit her -- everyone knew it would never happen, but the madame had insisted on trying. Ino had been so flustered by the enthusiastic woman's chatter that she'd actually said 'I'll consider it' before she realized what she was saying. Once she realized what she'd done, she immediately denied she would ever work at such a place... but that didn't stop the madame from trying.

"Sorry, no," she said, laughing.

"I'm sure you'd find yourself in top demand if you did," the madame answered, turning a hopeful eye on the kunoichi. When she only got a shake of the head as an answer, she sighed dramatically. "Well, then, I suppose you're here to take to Sakura-chan."

It always threw Ino for a loop whenever Kireme was referred to by her given name, considering the person _she_ knew as Sakura was a pink-haired kunoichi who happened to be rather attached to a rather impressive blond boy named Naruto. But it didn't even faze her this time. "I wish," she sighed. "No. I have a mission to begin, and I was told that a couple of my missing-in-action team members could be found here."

"Oh. I'm afraid I can't help you, then," the madame said, her face turning serious. "We cannot give out information on our clients."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Check your charter," she replied. "You're required to let us in to find active duty ninja when they're required to serve."

"I didn't say you couldn't come in and find them," came the unexpected answer. "Just that we cannot help you. We don't keep records, and so you'll have to find them on your own."

Ino grimmaced. There were thirty 'service rooms' in the brothel, and given how few girls were available at the moment she feared that a lot of people had chosen to use the snowy weather as an excuse to 'come in and warm up.' The brothel did provide services outside of simple prostitution -- they gave massages (erotic, theraputic, and everywhere in between), sold adult lingerie and novelty 'toys' (complete with the occasional live demonstration), had a small 'club' room where drinks and food were served while a show (not always erotic in nature -- comedy shows were also popular on their 'Family Fridays,' which was the day off for most of the regular staff while subcontractors were brought in to provide food and entertainment), and... well, there was a classroom in the building, somewhere, where the two ladies of Blossom named 'Sakura' -- Haruno Sakura and Kireme Sakura -- would join Inuzuka Hana to teach 'courtesan training' to the occasional student. Ino had refused the course, but some of the younger crowd were quite enthusiastic about it for some reason. Pansuke, Ran Umiko, Hyuuga Hanabi, and Inuzuka Futaba (largely to bug Hana) had all taken the 'early entry' course a year before -- together -- and there was supposed to be another one coming up in a month. Regardless, the classroom was somewhere in the building... which meant another room she had to find and check out to look for her wayward genin.

"I don't suppose you could provide me with a guide?" she asked wearily.

The madame laughed. "Sakura-chan! Come here for a moment. Joutai-chan, go take the store's counter."

Kireme Sakura emerged as another girl disappeared behind the curtain leading to the 'gift shop.' "Yes, ma-- oh! Ino-chan! What are you doing here? Taking us up on our offer for employment?"

"Already heard that one, today," Ino groaned. "No, I'm going to need your help."

"Ino's students appear to have used our services today, when they should be going on a mission," the madame explained helpfully. "Since we don't keep records, I'm not even sure if they're really here, but she needs a 'guide' to help her check."

Kireme laughed. "Yes, and I suspect she'd like to have someone else to be her peeping tom for her. She's a bit prudish compared to me."

"Hey!" Ino protested. "I am _not_ prudish! I--"

"I didn't say you were," Kireme shot back playfully. "Or would you like to be considered as, how did you put it to me that one time? Ah, yes, 'unrestrained.' Would you like to be considered as unrestrained as I, a veteran prostitute who has worked in this job -- and loved it -- for almost a full decade, am?" Ino's mouth opened and closed as she tried to work out an answer to that one. "I didn't think so."

Ino grinned at the older woman. Kireme was actually towards the end of her career as a prostitute -- although not as a worker in the brothel. She would continue to work there for the rest of her life, most likely, even if she was now mostly spending her time doing 'behind the counter' work in the gift shop. She had been the designated 'heir' for the madame's job ever since the brothel moved into Blossom, and she had been taking a sort of 'assistant madame's' position for a while. She was getting a bit old for the usual work -- she had just turned thirty, and most of the girls who worked in the job didn't last that long -- but her services were still in hot demand when she offered them, and she looked a lot younger then she actually was. Ino was convinced that she'd gotten a certain pink-haired kunoichi to teach her the hokage's anti-aging techniques, but niether would say for certain. Since Kireme only had the chakra of a raw recruit -- but, like Sakura was when she was a genin, had proven to have such perfect instinctual control that she could perform just about any ninja technique below an A-rate -- it was impossible to tell if she was using any techniques unless you had the eyes if a Hyuuga. As the only 'ninja auxilliary' in all of Blossom, Kireme had proven to be an... interesting asset.

"Come on," Ino grumbled playfully, feigning irritation. "Lead the way."

"Well, let's head back to the storeroom, first," Kireme suggested, starting through the door into the 'back rooms.' She opened the door to what looked like a walk-in closet and turned on the light. Shaking her head, she stepped inside and picked something up. "I once found your Pansuke-chan in here with one of _our _clients, when we were giving her those classes. That is one oversexed girl."

Ino frowned as she saw the other woman put whatever it was she had picked up back on a shelf. "Hey, what is that? I've seen that same bottle in Sakura and Naruto's apartment. Quite a number of them, actually -- they tend to go through them fast."

Kireme grinned slightly. "Massage oil. High quality massage oil -- they have a 'special' account with us, and can get this stuff, but we don't even sell it at the store usually."

"But... why do they get to buy it?" Ino asked, astonished.

Kireme's lips twitched. "Oh... they're good customers of our. _Very_ good customers."

Ino's eyes widened. "Sakura-chan, too?"

"Not that kind of customer," Kireme laughed. "But they often buy oils, 'toys,' lingerie, and the like. Plus, Sakura-chan is considered to be 'staff' here, thanks to her teaching position."

"And I was shocked when sweet little Sakura-chan came back with a tattoo from her eighteenth birthday celebration," Ino mused. "Who knew she was that... that..."

"Unrestrained?" Kireme asked, laughing. "You aren't exactly so 'restrained' yourself, you know -- I've heard about _your_ tattoos."

Ino flushed angrilly. "Forehead girl... I thought you knew not to tell anyone about that!" she muttered.

"Oh, she didn't," Kireme said. "The male members of your team, however, are regular customers... and, apparently, have caught you in the buff a few times."

"When... how... oh. Now I really want to find those brats!" she snarled. "All right, they obviously aren't here. Where next?"

"Well, the stage show doesn't start until the evenings," Kireme explained, "I just came from the store, and the classroom is locked up at the moment... so I'd say we have to go through the service rooms and massage tables."

Ino grimmaced. "Great," she said sarcastically. "I just knew it. Well, let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

It took about an hour, peeking into each room as the moved across the facility. Ino was blushing redder and redder as she saw people -- some of which she knew -- engaged in kinkier and kinkier practices. A few of the... activities... were bad enough to completely disgust her, but most were just, well, embarrassing to witness.

"Naruto-dono has always insisted Ebisu-san was a pervert," Ino commented once they'd checked the last room in the 'dungeon' (i.e., basement) wing, shaking her head. "But I always thought that was a joke. I'd think that sort of thing would be forbidden for being 'too much of a risk of rendering oneself unfit for service,' or so the rule goes. I didn't think that sort of thing usually went so far."

Kireme shuddered. "No, whipping someone until they bleed has never been one of my turn-ons, either. As I understand it, he's lost out on a few pay grade increases for that very reason."

Not every genin was paid the same in their base salary as their fellow genin, and the same was true of the chuunin and jounin ranks. There was a lot of room for 'pay grade increases,' which in most sectors of the workplace would be known as promotions, within each rank. Her genin, in fact, were all paid higher then two of Sakura's chuunin were. She, herself, wasn't paid as much as Kakashi, Anko, Hana, Aoba, Naruto, Sakura, Konohamaru, or Hanabi were (in roughly that order -- Konohamaru and Hanabi were on the same level, Aoba, Naruto, and Sakura were on the same level, and Anko and Hana were on the same level. Kakashi would have been down around Aoba's level, in terms of base salary, but he recieved a small base pay increase because he was Blossom's jounin-oyabun... one that would disappear whenever he left town, whether Naruto was left in charge (which had happened three times in the past three years, each time when he had to report directly to Tsunade in person to give some sort of 'annual report) or whether someone else was (as Jiraiya turned out to be, ceremonially, the day he announced his retirement from active service)) -- they were all at least one pay grade increase above her. She had overtaken Ebisu years ago, and she'd always wondered how -- she had done nothing truly exceptional in her time at Blossom (at least, nothing she could put on her record -- her work in Naruto's 'shadow government' could, perhaps, be considered fairly exceptional), and so she shouldn't have been given a pay raise faster then the average jounin. Now, however, she had a pretty good idea.

She was about to give up, as they had checked all of the rooms out with no trace of her missing genin, when a familiar voice caught her ear. It wasn't the usual cry of passion one could make out from time to time -- in fact, it sounded like someone giving an official report of some kind -- but there was no way of telling what exactly was said. It was too soft, too quiet, and fairly muffled. "Um... where did that come from?"

"Where did what come from?" Kireme asked.

Ino shook her head, motioning for her to be quiet, as she tried to follow the voice to its origins. As she got closer, she could make out more voices, several of them familiar, but she still was unable to determine who all it was -- although Okanemoto Akane's voice was clear enough to identify, once, when he shouted something out in disgust about 'traitors.' Finally, she came to a door they hadn't been through, before, and she couldn't help but frown -- it was still impossible to make out anything that was said, but there were definitely a number of familiar voices behind it. "What room is this?" she whispered, not wanting to be overheard for some reason.

Kireme took the clue and lowered her own voice to match. "After this place was built, Kakashi-sama asked if he could have a bunker installed in our basement for civilians to retreat to in the event of an attack. However, once it was complete, he attached a lock to it and took away the key -- to the best of my knowledge, the door hasn't been opened in over three years."

Ino shook her head. "This is a ninja village. We don't need keys, usually... but that is definitely strange. Why build an evacuation bunker for civilians, and then lock it up in such a way that only civilians can't access it? Furthermore... I think I heard one of my genin's voices coming from here."

Kireme's eyes widened, then hardened. "Fine. I think we should go in. I'll back you up."

Ino hesitated. It was entirely possible that this was just some sort of secret clubhouse for reprobates like Akane and Hiniku Butakatsu, and if that were the case she wouldn't need any more help then Kireme could provide. On the other hand, apparently Kakashi had a hand in its construction... which meant it was likely more then that. But what? After all, Kakashi -- while he had grown a bit eccentric and had proven to be prone to making serious blunders when leading the country -- was still her jounin-sensei... and her jounin-oyabun. Perhaps trying the door would ruin a plan many years in the making, especially if Kireme -- who, for all intents and purposes, was a civilian -- were to witness something she shouldn't. Then again... she was supposed to be running a mission now, and Kakashi knew that. If her genin were supposed to be here, that mission wouldn't have been given.

She pulled a lockpick out from one of her equipment pouches and quietly turned the tumblers to line them up. It took her a minute -- she was out of practice -- but before too long the lock was disabled and she was free to open the door. Remembering all of her lessons about opening doors that might squeek when she didn't want them to, she oiled up the hinges and slowly eased the door open, creeping inside, Kireme right on her tail.

It was dark, but she was able to follow one of the few light sources to an open doorway from which the voices were coming. She stopped just out of sight, and then peeked around the corner briefly. There was a table with several people sitting around it, and the room was lit by a single candle. From the number of dark blobs, she assumed there weren't more then four people, and a flash of light reflected off a forehead protector told her that one of them was from Cloud. She quickly ducked her head back behind the doorway, and decided to listen in before she moved on. Perhaps she should have sent a message out with Kireme, to get back-up -- if Cloud was here, that meant trouble -- but she didn't know how to do so without drawing attention to herself. Unfortunately, despite being a ninja auxilliary, Kireme had never been taught hand signals... and so, it seemed, their only choice was to wait and listen, and hope they could find out something useful before escaping.

"...Pansuke's decision," Akane was saying loudly. "I've looked everywhere for her, but she's gone. I'm worried she'll blab the whole thing, and then we'll have to leave."

"She already has," another voice -- one Ino couldn't help but release a soft gasp of shock when she recognized -- replied. There was a momentary pause before the voice, belonging to Hatake Kakashi, continued. "She approached me about it. I told her I would take care of it and sent her on her way -- my secretary knew she had come in, so there was no way to eliminate her."

"So, if we do that now, we can still keep this going?" Akane asked.

"Hm. No, I think you'd better leave," Kakashi said. "I'm not sure eliminating her is the right option. She might have told... others, and if she's found dead, that'll raise people's suspicions about me. I think we're going to have to slip you out of here, now, and be done with it."

"Dammit! So, now what do we do? Cloud will have a hard time hiding what it's done if we start wearing their forehead protectors," Akane grumbled.

"Cloud has a good relocation program," a third voice -- Butakatsu -- replied. "Isn't that right?"

"How many of your people even knew Gashir was still alive before we told you?" the final voice -- obviously the one belonging to the Cloud ninja -- pointed out. "You'll be safe. And well cared for. And we'll even train you, if that's what you want..."

"You betrayed Gashir," Akane replied suspiciously. "How do we know you won't do the same to us?"

"Because your continued existence isn't cause for a declaration of war," Kakashi sighed. "The hokage also knows of your role in all of this, and won't even declare you missing nin. You won't really even need to go to Cloud -- just as long as you don't come to Konoha or Blossom, things will be fine."

_The hokage? She knew about this... this... whatever this is? But what's going on, and why is Cloud involved? And what is this all about? _Ino wondered, amazed.

"Satisfied?" the Cloud agent asked.

"For now," Akane shot back grudgingly.

"Good. On to new business. I assume you gave that Naruto brat _that_ mission?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied. "I sent him and Sakura together."

"We said we wanted him alone!"

"For an S-rate mission?" Kakashi replied incredulously. "Surely you don't think I could get away with that!"

"Well... probably not. I suppose it won't matter, in the end."

"Why?" Kakashi asked. "I mean, what's the point of sending him on this mission, and why him specifically?"

"You know that brat has been a thorn in our side since Blossom was formed," the Cloud man grumbled. "First, he stopped your attempts to funnel money into our movement."

"And he was right to do so with what he knew," Kakashi pointed out. "I wasn't allowed to bring him in on this operation, and because of that he did what was right for Blossom and not what was right for the mission. If you'd given me the right to even explain that it was--"

"Yes, yes, we understand all that. You've told us, often enough," came the irritated reply. "But then he also messed up the attempted assassination of the daimyo--"

"Again, he was right to do so."

"And then he prevented the capture of the Hyuuga girl."

"We never agreed to let you _have_ the Hyuuga girl, as I recall -- the whole move was an attempt to bring Gashir out into the open where he could be properly challenged, politically. Thanks to him, Gashir was more then taken out into the open -- he was taken out of service."

"Since then," the Cloud ninja went on, sounding more enraged then before. "He has crippled just about 90 of the activities we've tried to get you to do for us. At any rate, he's become something of an irritation to us."

"Which he wouldn't have been, if we'd been allowed to explain things to him from the beginning," Kakashi pointed out.

"I don't care! It was too much of a risk -- he never would have gone along with it, and you know that," the Cloud man snapped. "However, he has provided us with an opportunity to secure a powerful ally."

There was another pause. "What do you mean?"

"We were contacted, recently, by a powerful organization in desperate need of just one component to complete their superweapon. They are running out of time, as they have a powerful enemy who has spend the past several years hunting them down one at a time, but if they could complete their weapon they will become a force as great as any of the five major powers. With their aid, we will be able to usurp the power of the Raikage... and then, we will be free to offer the promised alliance against the aggressions of the Sound and the Rock. They asked for one thing in return, however... and that is the last component to thier superweapon: The kyuubi housed inside that brat."

There was some shifting sounds. "What... what is the name of this organization?"

"Akatsuki," was the answer.

This time, Ino couldn't help but gasp. "Hey," Akane snapped. "Someone's out there!"

"Crap!" Ino cried. "Kireme, run!"

"Too late," Akane said, appearing in front of them. Hiniku Butakatsu and the Cloud agent were behind them, and Ino knew they were in trouble. She was caught, and she knew it -- by the time she could complete her first move, she'd be dead.

Kakashi sighed as he stepped out to look at them, shaking his head, with a charged chidori at the ready. "I'm sorry about this, Ino-chan... you weren't supposed to be here."

* * *

Notes: Hm... I imagine I'm going to get a flood of 'Kakashi is out of character' comments after this one. Ah, well... I can't say anything without giving too much away.

Next Chapter: The fates of Ino and Kireme are shown, and Konohamaru begins the rescue mission.


	59. V3 Chapter 49

Volume 3

Notes: I considered letting a number of things drag on, but considering the reaction to the last chapter I figured I'd try and clear up what I felt I could right away instead of saving it to the end. Besides, the biggest shockers have pretty much already happened, so there's no point in dragging it on much longer other than to torture the readers... which isn't the point. And there's enough of a cliffhanger at the end without the added stress...

* * *

Chapter 49

"Come on, come on, wake up," an anxious voice was saying. It was distorted, as if she was underwater, and there wasn't any way of determining who it was... for that matter, she wasn't sure who she was. She felt a hand slapping her face, but it didn't feel right -- almost like it was happening to someone else, and was just a sympathy pain. "I know I got that drug into you in time -- wake up!"

"Quit shouting," another voice called out. "You're giving me a headache."

"Don't complain," the first voice replied. "You're lucky I had two doses of the drug on me -- she was supposed to be alone. Wake up, Ino-sensei! Wake up!"

"Mmrgh," Ino replied, now knowing who she was but little else.

"That's it, sensei... wake up. Kakashi-sama said this should snap you out of it in just ten minutes, and it's been fifteen. I had a hard time finding you -- Butakatsu-kun did a remarkable job with that genjutsu -- but I know I got the antidote in you before it was too late."

Ino's eyes blinked open tirely, and she could just barely make out a blur in front of her. Her hearing was clearing up, however, and she was now able to identify the speaker. "P...pansuke-san?"

"Yes, sensei," the genin girl said, sighing with relief. "Now, get up -- we don't have much time."

"Muh... what's going on?" Ino asked, shaking her head to try and clear up the fuzziness around everything.

Pansuke sighed. "Okay, you have until I'm done explaining to get back to your senses, but then we have to move. Got it?"

Ino blinked dazedly. "If... if I can."

"I guess that'll huffed do," the younger kunoichi huffed impatiently. "Okay. This all goes back to, oh, about five or six years ago, when Kakashi-sama was on a diplomatic mission to the Cloud. He was approached by a rebel group, who offered to ally the Cloud to Konoha if he would 'help them' in thier plans... to usurp power in Cloud and conquer the new economic powerhouse of Wave Country. As 'proof' of their reliability, they gave up the information that Sinobi Gashir was still alive. Now, what he should have done, considering he had identified several of the people involved as being heavy supporters of the Rock, was to reject them right away... but he didn't. Instead, he said he would consider it, and then secretly informed the Raikage of everything that was going on. The Raikage asked him to play along, giving him a message for the Hokage-sama about establishing some sort of secret communications line to clear things up between our two powers while we worked on this subterfuge.

"Kakashi-sama has since been working to try and bring these Cloud traitors to light -- on behalf of both Konoha and the Cloud -- and much of what's taken place since then has all been part of this. The creation of Blossom was asked for by these traitors, which we actually agreed to do for multiple reasons, but they intended it to only be a way to funnel money into their movement. We did funnel some money into them, but only enough to buy their trust... and then, he arranged for Naruto-sensei to take control of the village and close those funnels... all without letting anyone outside of the hokage know what was going on, and therefore making it appear as if his plans were being countered by outside forces, while advocating that 'Naruto be brought into the plan' with the Cloud. He didn't know about the planned assassination of the Wave Daimyo, but he did make arrangements to ensure that Naruto-sensei would be the 'leader' of the Chuunin Exam in Cloud to prevent things from going wrong. Sinobi Gashir was actually someone who both the traitors and the Raikage done away with, since he was abusing the power he held and had apparently gone insane, and so the Raikage approved of his capture. Kakashi-sama did try to protect Hanabi-sensei, but in the end it was Naruto who saved them there.

"Akane was a known spy from the moment he joined the Academy, so Kakashi-sensei made arrangements to ensure that he would become a 'controlled' leak, feeding him largely accurate information that wouldn't be damaging so that we could possibly use him to give out some false information at one point. That never materialized, but along the way he was supposed to recruit others for the Cloud -- something Butakatsu-kun was the first to report to Kakashi-sama. So, he and I were turned into double-agents, as well, out of necessity. Naruto-sensei was finally brought into the fold, informed of just what the plan was, and he played along by forming that 'shadow government' you all have been using... and it was his job to ensure that the Cloud's plans would be ruined without drawing the traitors' attention to Kakashi-sama. For the past several years, his primary 'source' in the administration has been Kakashi-sama himself. This has all been done with the most secrecy as possible -- Naruto-sensei hasn't even been allowed to let Sakura-sensei know.

"Which brings us to today. Today, while 'the one person who could stop Kakashi-sama' was away -- meaning Naruto-kun -- you were supposed to 'discover' what was going on, thanks to my getting 'cold feet' about some of the recent plans. My reporting this to you, and then you reporting this to others, was supposed to result in the capture of the rebel Cloud agents in the act, which would force the traitors to take Kakashi or, at least, Butakatsu-kun, to the location of their safehouses and other secret facilities. From there, we would be able to act to smash the traitors. You weren't supposed to give yourself away, however, and apparently several other things have gone wrong. I recieved a note at a pre-arranged dead-drop, complete with poison antidotes, saying I would have to revive you and get some of the story from you, and that Naruto-sensei was in serious danger. Now, I've answered what I know about what's going on -- I need to know what you know about what's going on... and fast."

Ino, still fuzzy from all the drugs and poisons, couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I... I... look, how do I know you're telling the truth, here?" she asked.

Pansuke snorted. "Oh, come on, Ino-sensei. What would be the point of making up a story like this? For that matter, I'd think the proof is that you're still alive after Butakatsu-kun used that genjutsu he'd been spending a couple years perfecting to cover you, instead of forcing Kakashi-sensei to put his chidori through your gut."

Ino shook her head wearily, but then, recalling just what it was she'd learned that had caused her to give away her position, stiffened. "Good point. Okay... you're right, Naruto-dono is in trouble. Serious trouble. We're going to need just about everyone for this one."

Pansuke smiled hesitantly. "Well... that actually might not be a problem."

* * *

"Okay," Hanabi, standing in front of the first cluster of ninja Ino saw, was saying. "Now, I realize this is a difficult mission, and that ninja are supposed to remain on an even keel at all times, but this particular mission is personal for me. My boys are both in danger, here, and while we don't quite know what's going on yet, I'm going to see to it that they get out of that danger alive..."

Ino couldn't hear more from that speech as she was hustled on through the milling crowds by Pansuke. There was Anko, with what looked like a trio of ANBU behind her... which wouldn't make sense, since, to the best of her knowledge, there were no ANBU in Blossom. Hana -- and Futaba, who must have just returned from the daimyo's castle -- were organizing ninja and dog alike. Udon, Matsuri, Nobori, Kouji, Daichi, Aoba, and Ebisu were all there, as well, organizing a large number of genin and newer chuunin into teams, coaching them on various aspects of some sort of plan. And, in front of them all, directing everybody, was Konohamaru, in intense discussion with Jiraiya.

"All right," the young man was saying, "The first thing we'll have to do is find Kakashi-sensei. He's the only one who knows where they were going, and he'll be the only one who can tell us how to get there..."

"What's going on?" Ino demanded.

"And make it fast," Kireme, who just barely had been able to keep up with her, added. "We've both had a long day, and it looks like it'll just be getting longer."

Konohamaru glanced at them. "We know Naruto-san's in trouble. We know it's big enough trouble that it's made kyuubi anxious. We don't know where Naruto is, yet, but we'll find out... and then we're going in to rescue him."

"How-- no, never mind, I know how," Ino sighed. She was one of a few people who knew the nature of Moegi's connection to Naruto and Sakura, and so she was quickly able to guess how he knew kyuubi's mood. Apparently, the Akatsuki were making him anxious. "Well, guess what, I do know where Naruto-dono was going."

Konohamaru paused, then grinned. "Well, then... I guess we'd better get a move on, hadn't we? Lead the way, Ino-kun. Lead the way."

* * *

Sakura shifted nervously as she felt Naruto join her in their sleeping pallet. They were right outside of the village they were supposed to check out after a remarkably fast passage -- thanks, in part, to having four summoners who were able to summon enough mounts for everyone between them... although the odd procession of moles, horses, slugs, and frogs would have seemed very strange to anyone observing them from the outside. Stealth, thankfully, was not supposed to be a requirement for this mission -- in fact, the more visible they were, the better... supposedly.

Still, she couldn't help but feel that something was bugging her -- like there was something following them just at the edge of their senses, but she couldn't tell what. Naruto had been especially anxious, and now -- as he lay down by her side -- she could tell he wanted to talk about it.

"Are you sensing it, too?" she asked.

"Not sure," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I think there is something after us, but I don't know what it is. Kyuubi's been bothering me all day, but I've been too busy to try and find out what it is he wants."

"Well, I can do that if--"

"No," he interrupted. "I'll do it... but later. There's something else I want to discuss with you, first... something about whoever it is might be following us."

Sakura blinked, not expecting this. "Sure, anything."

He took a deep breath before beginning. "I've been keeping a secret from you for several years... a very dangerous secret."

She almost laughed. "Oh, come on, Naruto-kun! You can't keep a secret from me to save your life! You talk in your sleep too much."

Naruto shook his head. "This one, I'm pretty sure I didn't let slip -- it's been too important. And I'm not sure what you'll think about me keeping it from you all this time."

Sakura hesitated, remembering Anko's secret she had kept all these years... an intensely personal secret, and one she had always felt Naruto deserved to know. "Naruto-kun... I know some secrets you'll probably hate me for keeping from you all these years, too, but I didn't see any other choice. It wasn't my secret to tell."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, this isn't my secret to tell, either... or it hasn't been. But now I can." He looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze reflecting the seriousness of this situation. "Everything that's happened over the past few years -- at least, all the stuff involving our shadow government and all -- has been... planned. For some time, in fact. By Kakashi-sensei..."

That brought her up short. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm only telling you now because it's too late for anything to change what's been set in motion, now," he continued. "But there's a very good chance that whoever it is who has been following us is involved with the Cloud... or rather, with a rebel faction of the Cloud that Kakashi-sensei has been working against, acting as Konoha's double-agent to entrap for the Raikage in exchange for an alliance. I was warned that I might become a target, but--"

"Wait, wait, wait," Sakura snapped, stopping him. "Double-agent? The Cloud? You need to slow down and back up a bit. What is going on with the Cloud that Kakashi-sensei would need to be a double-agent for them? And why are we helping?"

"I don't know all the details," Naruto said. "I just know he's trying to locate their base of operations before the Raikage moves to strike down this rebellion before it starts. The final part of that operation began this morning, I believe -- after we left the village -- and, if things go well, we're supposed to wrap up this mission very quickly and then return to Konoha and help in the mop-up actions for that operation. Ero-sennin, the closet pervert, Anko-chan, Aoba-san, and the puppy lady are supposed to be able to act if we take too long... but it's possible something could go wrong. If it does... well, then perhaps we've got the Cloud after us for a reason. And these Cloud know all too well how good the kyuubi has made you and me, and has a pretty good idea of our team strength... so, if they're following us with hostile intent, you can bet they brought a powerful force to deal with us."

_And now, will you let me talk? _a frustrated kyuubi growled inside both their heads, finally able to flair up and make himself heard as the tension in their bodies had relaxed while they cuddled together. _I know who this powerful force is. I've dealt with all of them, before... and, quite frankly, I'm worried. In my perfect state, I could deal with two or even three of them at a time, but there are at least five, probably six or seven of them out there, getting close, and I--_

_Who? _Naruto thought back demandingly. _Who is it who is following us?_

There was a pause. _The other bijuu, _kyuubi finally replied. _Five, possibly six of them. Maybe even seven -- the only one I don't sense for certain is the Orochi no Yamato, my second in power and stamina. It's a bit fuzzy, so they may be inside jinchuuriki, but they're there._

"The bijuu..." Sakura gasped aloud. "But... weren't they being kept under the control of the Akatsuki? And most of them outside of other jinchuuriki? How..."

"I don't know how," Naruto said, seperating himself from her and rolling out of their bed. They were still fully dressed -- the luxury of being able to sleep in the nude was not available when on a mission, and niether of them kept any real pajamas any more -- but he found himself moving faster then usual as he collected the equipment they had set aside before turning in. "But there's no way our kids will be able to fight off those things. It'll be up to the two of us. If it's Akatsuki, they'll want to capture us, but they're likely to leave our teams alone as long as they don't get in the way. If its something else... well, they won't stand a chance anyway."

Realizing what he just said was true, Sakura nodded. She, too, started pooling together her supplies and equipment, preparing for battle. "What about us. Do we kill or capture them?"

Naruto laughed at her feigned confidence -- his own confidence was pretty rocked, so he was sure she wasn't nearly as certain of victory as she seemed. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah," Sakura replied, keeping up the small talk in order to distract herself from what was coming. "It might. Do you think Gaara-kun wants Shukaku back?"

"Good question," Naruto replied, laughing -- the absurdity of that idea was so amusing whatever tension he was feeling about the upcoming battle left itself in humor. Gathering himself together, he nodded at her. "If it comes to it, I think we should fight as if to kill them, but if an opportunity comes to capture them we take it. In other words, don't put off killing them because you want to take them prisoner instead... assuming they can even die."

_They can be killed, like anything else,_ Kyuubi noted. _But other demons will rise to take their place, if we do. It is much better, for the sakes of Our Own, to simply force them into a prolonged regeneration period... which is much like killing them, only you allow their remnants to dissipate instead of destroying them as well. I... can no longer regenerate, since my remnants are gone, and all that is left of me is still inside of you. I could be extracted, and restored if someone could remake my body, but what has long been said is true -- if you die, I will die._

Kyuubi, over the years, had become more civil. Slightly. And he had taken to the understanding that Konoha and its people -- including those of Blossom -- were what Naruto considered 'his own.' It made their agreement of many years past stronger, that realization... and had moved him to divulge things he usually would have kept secret. Such as the tactics needed to destroy another bijuu, if it came to that.

"Inari!" Naruto snapped.

"Chikan!" Sakura called at the same time.

"Yes, sensei," the two chuunin said, jumping from their watch positions to stand at attention in front of their two jounin.

Naruto looked at both of them, nodding his head in appreciation. When they were first genin, niether was exactly the most disciplined of students -- Inari was trying too hard to emulate his sensei's ways (which Naruto was actually pleased with, but had to rein in a bit), including the ones he now regretted, and Chikan... well, the less said about Chikan, the better. Both, however, had matured nicely -- niether of them so disciplined as to become a jerk or a lunatic on the job (like Neji had been and Gai and Lee... probably still were) but disciplined enough that they would follow orders when given. Which he desperately hoped they would in this case.

"An old enemy of ours is coming," Naruto began. "And they are so far beyond you that it would be suicide for you to get involved. We'll fight better, in fact, without you around... but we don't want you to disappear completely. You two will lead your teams to observe our fight. There is a possibility that the goal of these people is to capture us -- if they do, track us but do _not_ attempt a rescue. Get reinforcements first."

Chikan nodded, and moved to get his teammates going, but Inari hesitated.

"Naruto-sensei," he said. "I--"

"Go!" Naruto snapped. "Watch the battle. Get reinforcements. Stay out of their way. Got it?"

"But--"

"Please, Inari-kun," Sakura pleaded. "It really will be easier for us to fight without you here. We have some... very powerful techniques, which are dangerous to use when we have friends in the way. There is a good chance that we would win if you left, and lost if you stayed."

Finally nodding, Inari said, "Okay. But I reserve the right to be part of the rescue team if you are captured."

Naruto grinned. "Hey, if I need someone to help me other then Sakura-chan, you'd be one of those at the top of my list. But Sakura-chan and I share a pretty special bond with certain techniques, and they wouldn't work as well if we had to look out for you. But I want you to get help before you move in -- if we can't do it, you're going to need more power then just your team to take care of these guys. Your duty, now, is just to survive and report on this battle. Understood?"

"Yes, Naruto-sensei," Inari replied, then darted off to start organizing his team as well.

Naruto took a deep breath and turned to Sakura. "Well... that's taken care of. Are you ready?"

"Not yet," she answered, then pulled him in for a rather deep kiss. It lasted almost until Inari and Chikan had lead their teams clear before she released him. "There. That does it. Now I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

"I was under the impression we were headed to Cloud," Kakashi mused, following the Cloud agent as they quietly passed through the trees.

"We will," he replied. "But we're going by boat. If your people in Blossom are on the watch for you, as I fear they will be by now, they'll try and intercept us at the border... but we're going to go the other way, and meet up with our contacts in a little fishing village up north. We'll probably be rendezvousing with the Akatsuki there, by the way -- this is the same village to which your Naruto was being sent."

Kakashi stiffened. "This may not be a good idea. One of the few surviving Akatsuki is a missing nin of Konoha's, and an old enemy of mine as well. I should stay out of sight while you deal with him."

"I expected such," the Cloud ninja laughed. "Ogata-sama said that we were to avoid making direct contact with that Itachi character you know unless absolutely necessary."

Kakashi nodded slowly. Yobutsu Ogata, who he had met several times since the chuunin exams in Cloud at which they managed to subdue and capture Gashir, was the leader of Cloud's rebellion. Until that moment, there was a chance, however, that he was unaware that his rebellion was in negotiations with the Akatsuki, as disunified as it was -- each part of his organization was free to engage in its own activities for the cause, as long as they kept its existence -- and his role -- a secret. Learning that he, indeed, was the one who negotiated with the Akatsuki was enough to confirm the suspicions Kakashi had formed all those years ago -- Ogata and his rebellion were not to be trusted, and should not be given the opportunity to usurp the Raikage's power. It had been a dangerous game to play, these past five years, but he'd managed to prevent just about everyone from knowing his exact intentions -- only the Raikage and Hokage knew everything, and Anko, Jiraiya, Pansuke, Butakatsu, and Naruto knew he was acting as a double-agent for most of those years. He had revealed the remaining details to Pansuke and Naruto only a few weeks before, in preparation for this final push... but the secrecy had been kept that carefully preserved for so long, he wasn't sure just how bad things were any more.

The wierd things was, Ogata had actually been in the running to replace the Raikage, after all -- his retirement was coming up, and he had been considering naming the man as his successor, and promoting him to the Raikage in a training capacity. When news of his intended rebellion reached the top, immediate action had not been taken for many reasons. One of those reasons, however, was that the Raikage still hadn't given up on the man -- if he proved to be a competent leader while organizing this little rebellion, there had still been a chance that his intentions could be ignored and a more peaceful transition would be granted. The first black mark on his record was in allying himself with Gatoh's successors, and the second was in the planned attempt on the life of the daimyo of Wave. In fact, the whole plan to 'conquer Wave,' which the Hokage and Raikage had both ordered Kakashi to prevent (not that he would have permitted, anyway), was the nail in the coffin for Ogata. When the word 'go' was given, the Hokage ordered him to inform Naruto of the plan... although that could have been prompted by the young man had demanding to know from her what she was intending to do about Kakashi's 'dangerous' team design when composing Ino's squadron.

"Stop!" Akane, who had taked the point position due to his eyes -- which he had developed even further since the days of Hanabi's training, and could now morph in a variety of ways. Now, in addition to his 'blinding flash' trick, he could do some basic hypnotism... and could grow what amounted to a living pair of binoculars if needed.

The three others -- the Cloud agent, Kakashi, and Butakatsu -- took one final leap to join him and then stopped. "What is it, Okanemoto-san?" the agent asked.

Akane frowned. "I think, since I'm leaving behind Blossom, I'd like to leave behind that name as well." He shook his head. "Never mind -- ahead, in the clearing... Naruto-sensei and Sakura-sensei are... apparently preparing for battle."

"We caught up with them?" Kakashi replied, incredulously. "They should have been able to travel faster then we could."

"It looks like they'd been forming a camp here. They've probably been here a few hours, at least, judging from the embers of their fire -- bunkered down, probably intending to head into town at dawn instead of right away. There are signs the rest of their team were present, but have since bugged out."

"Is anyone else visible?" the Cloud agent asked.

"No," Akane replied.

Kakashi raised his forehead protector from his eye, engaging the sharingan briefly. He very nearly fell over right away. "Oh... hell. That's not the Akatsuki -- at least, not alone!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Akane asked, confused.

"All that chakra... too much..." was all the usually unflappable silver-haired jounin could manage.

"We dispatched a couple teams to join them," the Cloud man suggested. "Perhaps that is what you are sensing?"

"What I am sensing," Kakashi replied. "No, that's not what I'm sensing. Whatever it is... it ain't human. It's several not humans, in fact..."

"What--"

"Bijuu!" he snapped, realizing what it was. "Or... no, not quite. Jinchuuriki, but not as physically stable I think -- and... and there are seven of them."

"Seven bijuu?" Butakatsu replied, breaking his silence for the first time since the meeting back in Blossom. "Who... what in the world would be able to command seven of them? And for what purpose?"

"I was informed that the Akatsuki were a powerful organization with powerful weapons," the Cloud ninja said in awe. "But... not that they could manage anything like that."

Now, Kakashi saw the first of Naruto's enemies emerge from the forest. "And it doesn't look like that's all of it -- Akane-san, if you'll train your eyes on the dark-haired man who just emerged from the brush, you'll see the most feared missing nin in all of Konoha -- even moreso then Orochimaru, and Orochimaru is known to have killed a hokage and started a major war with us, so that should tell you just how dangerous we feel he is."

"Itachi," Butakatsu gasped. "You mean him? I read about him in Haruno-sensei's history classes. He... he singlehandedly killed off the most powerful clan in the entire ninja world... in one night!"

"And he's insane," Kakashi replied. "Possibly still clear-headed and focused, capable of making decisions, following and giving rational orders, and still a genius in terms of the ability to learn and grow... but obsessed with something to the point of insanity. A genetic flaw the Haruno clan discovered -- and Sakura-chan confirmed recently -- that causes their most powerful members to go insane whenever they obtain a certain level of power in their bloodline abilities... or perhaps, it is the insanity which enables the ability. There is a definite corellation there, regardless."

"I'm... not sure Ogata-sama was wise in allying us with him," the Cloud ninja said uncertainly.

"I think you are very wise in realizing that," Kakashi replied, tight-lipped. "I think we had better wait here -- anyone who gets involved in this battle is more likely to die then to live, and our job is not to fight to the death."

* * *

"Hm," Itachi said, surveying the two standing before him. "It seems you have split yourself, kyuubi."

"It seems Sasuke didn't manage to catch you yet, Itachi," Naruto taunted.

"It wouldn't matter if he did," the Uchiha man replied tiredly. "He cannot beat me."

"He will," Sakura chimed in. "We'll leave just enough of you intact for him to kill."

"But I am not your opponent in this battle," Itachi pointed out. He made a sweeping gesture to seven men -- all bearing the forehead protectors of the Cloud -- who followed him in. They were all showing aspects of bijuu possession -- one even had Gaara's eyes -- but none of them seemed as in control as even Gaara had been. Some of them held relics of the deceased Akatsuki -- one carried the Samehada, for example -- and they all were surrounded by swirls of chakra as they moved. "They are."

"What are they?" Sakura replied, horrified. "They... they can't be proper jinchuuriki."

"No," Itachi agreed. "They won't be alive by this time, tomorrow. But there is a method of making a person a 'temporary' jinchuuriki of a grown human being. It kills the person into which the demon is sealed, but that is of no consequence to me. They are your enemy, today."

"Afraid to get your hands dirty, huh?" Naruto snarled. "You know, for such an 'all powerful ninja,' you're a bit of a wimp. You run away from Ero-sennin when you outnumber him two to one, you send a sacrificial lamb to take your place when you come to fight me on my way to rescue Gaara, and you've been running from your supposedly weaker younger brother for the past four or five years. Now, you want to kill us... but you still won't fight -- you get a group of Cloud ninja to sacrifice themselves to fight in your stead. You, Itachi, are a bloody _coward!_"

Sakura hesitated. "Naruto," she whispered. "I don't think we should antagonize him when we've got those other seven to deal with."

"They aren't important," Naruto pointed out, not bothering to hide what he was saying. "They will die, anyway, in time. What is the point in fighting, and not running, if we don't also get the 'reward' of facing him?"

"Interesting," Itachi mused. "And you think you could run from us?"

Naruto grinned. "I think I could destroy all of them... but what would be the point if you weren't here to beat, too?"

Sakura twitched, then whispered to Naruto again. "You could, huh?"

Naruto grinned, but lowered his voice as well. "Hey, I'm going to be hokage one day. What kind of hokage couldn't manage seven to one odds?"

The flippant attitude told Sakura a lot, so she nodded slowly. "But what about him?"

"I dunno," he replied hesitantly. "In a straight fight, easy, but he's got all that genjutsu stuff that comes with his eyes -- I'm not sure I could manage to beat him without looking at him."

Sakura grinned darkly. "Then you take care of those seven. I'll handle him."

* * *

Itachi wasn't sure what they were planning, but he was angry. While he refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing it, Naruto's accusation of cowardice hit him hard. He wasn't a coward -- he was a ninja. Ninja were always at their best using tools and not fighting themselves, and these quasi-jinchuuriki were nothing more then tools. That they were once proud ninja of the Cloud, too, was irrelevant -- they were simply tools, and he felt no more cowardly using them then he would using a kunai or an explosive tag. Or a poison. And using the bijuu on the Cloud, who he knew would betray the Akatsuki once they had their way, was little more then a poison that turned them into tools, now, weren't they?

He wasn't a coward -- he had conquered all of his emotions the day he had murdered his best friend to get the mangekyou. To test that, he destroyed his entire clan... and yes, he had conquered his emotions. And he left behind a little experiment -- Sasuke, his younger brother. The question of whether it made one stronger to be more emotional or to be completely emotionless would be answered... or so he had thought. But when he finally found that little brother, he had been so... disappointed (anger would have been an emotion, and Itachi no longer had those). The powerhouse of emotions he was expecting had been... restrained. Where was the hatred? Where was the passion? Where was the fire? All he found was someone who was... afraid. Fear, the weakest of emotions.

The first emotion Itachi had divorced himself from was fear, and all cowardice was based in fear. He had no fear, and therefore could not be a coward. He couldn't!

Still... best to strike at the boy, now, when he was distracted discussing some sort of useless strategy with the girl... and with that in mind, he sent a brace of kunai at the two. He was the best marksman with Kunai in all of history with kunai, and it showed as the weapons slammed into the both of them. Perhaps they weren't a threat, really, if they couldn't even avoid a simple knife attack.

_Or perhaps they can,_ Itachi mused, watching what he had thought were two bijuu-possessed ninja dissolve into puffs of smoke. _Kage bushin. I've always heard it was the brat's favorite technique. It surprises me that he can even fool my eyes, however._

He set his sharingan to surveying the field, trying to find the two and not let them escape. However, he was an Uchiha, not a Hyuuga, and therefore didn't have eyes in the back of his head. The explosion coming from his line of jinchuuriki, therefore, was entirely unexpected. "He... he attacked?" He barely managed to keep the... surprise, yes, that was it, just mere surprise -- a simple instinctual reaction to the unexpected and not an emotion, for he had no emotions -- out of his voice.

"Of course he attacked," A feminine voice from Itachi's left flank snorted. He spun to find the pink-haired ninja he wasn't familiar with standing against him. "On our very first C-class mission, he swore to never run away... and he's kept that oath, to the best of my knowledge, ever since."

"Who are you?" Itachi asked, hoping to distract her into looking in his eyes. "I've seen you a couple times, before, when you tried to rescue that other jinchuuriki five years ago, but I know nothing about you. I wasn't aware that the kyuubi had been split apart... just how did that happen? And who are you?"

She smirked at him. There was something to be said for keeping certain things secret, but she obviously chose the path of intimidation -- a path doomed to fail against Itachi, who could not be intimidated as he had no emotion. Well, he believed there was no way for her to intimidate him. "Well, allow me to introduce myself, then. I am the apprentice of the Fifth, a Slug Master, and a medical ninja of the highest order. I have trained for many years to hunt down another Uchiha with the mangekyou -- your brother, Sasuke, my former teammate. I am Naruto-kun's teammate, lover, sealmate, and fiancee. And my name is Sakura... _Haruno_ Sakura. And _I_ am your opponent."

_A Haruno! Of course, the pink hair... and with a bijuu inside, the allegiance of the slugs, and the talents of a medical ninja. This could be bad,_ Itachi thought. _The Haruno were the hunters of my clan, as the only ones who could withstand our greatest technique. Her natural counters to my greater abilities make her more dangerous to me then any other opponent I could draw, whatever her skill level... and if she truly is a slug master and medical ninja of the highest order, and she truly does have the enhancements the kyuubi would allow... she could defeat me._

"I suppose I will have to fight you, then," Itachi replied, his voice cracking for reasons he couldn't determine.

* * *

"Inari-san... they're pretty badly outnumbered," Chikan said, glancing from their hiding place behind the bushes of a high overhang to watch the battle. He, Adaha, and Inari were watching the battle while the others were still hiding their equipment. "I know I'm hardly the one to say something like this, but... I think we should help them."

Inari chewed his lip nervously for a moment. "Not... yet. Let's watch and see what happens, first."

"Do you see anything we don't, Adaha-san?" Chikan asked. "Anything new, that is?"

"At this range, your eyes are as good as mine," Adaha sighed. "But I'll look."

The trio looked over the wall of brush to watch the action together. Sakura was facing off against the dark-haired man who was obviously the leader of these attackers, but the more interesting battle was Naruto's seven-on-one duel. He was dashing and dodging between them, leaving red streaks as he moved faster then even his own team had seen him move, before. He was controlling eight rasengen at once, then those would vanish as he split into a dozen shadow clones to converge on one or another enemy, then he would start using the elemental techniques he had learned over the years, and then he start using trickery with wires, explosive tags, shadow clones, kawarimi, kunai, henge, and so forth. He was performing at a level none of them had ever witnessed before, and it was shocking.

The only problem was, as much damage as he was doing and as many times as he'd outwitted each foe... they all continued to stand up, to launch counterattacks of their own, and to fight back. They were berserkers, Inari quickly realized -- beings who would continue fighting no matter how much damage they took. He'd heard of certain techniques which would allow that -- Naruto had spoken of something a ninja named Lee performed, once, called the Lotus technique -- but this... didn't seem even within the realm of how those techniques had been described. Far from fighting mindlessly, they seemed calm -- almost resigned -- and while their strength and durability seemed well beyond what should be humanly possible, they were fighting rationally. If anything, Naruto was the one who occasionally slipped into the desperation of irrational tactics associated with berserkers.

When one of the attackers turned into what could only be described as a lizard of some kind, the trio slunk back behind the bush.

"I don't know about you two," Adaha said. "But I don't like our chances of being anything more effective then a gnat in that battle."

Inari hesitated. "Naruto-sensei... wouldn't quit on us, if we were in that kind of battle."

"No," Adaha agreed. "But Naruto-sensei has the power to back us up. We... if the battle comes this way, we should fight, but... I think we need to respect his orders. At least, until we find some kind of opening, some kind of weakness, that can be exploited."

"Er, I'd like to point something out," Chikan said.

"Yes?" Inari asked, looking over at him curiously.

"Look, I was able to overhear some of what they were saying to each other -- I gather you did, too," Chikan said. "These seven enemies that Naruto-sensei are fighting... they've only got until tomorrow to live, and that was the price of their power now. That guy -- Itachi, I think they said his name was -- is going to be the only one left alive by this time tomorrow. I also remember Naruto-sensei telling us that these people are more likely to want to capture them then to kill them."

"So?" Inari snapped. "There's no way even Naruto-sensei and Sakura-sensei can last against that until tomorrow. They're just too powerful!"

"Yes," Chikan replied. "And if they're too powerful for them, they're too powerful for us. However, two things can happen. Either they fight and win now... or they fight, lose, and are captured. And if they are captured..."

"The seven people we can't stand against will be gone by tomorrow afternoon," Adaha chimed in. "It'll just be this Itachi character. He seems to be a rather dangerous enemy, himself, but we wouldn't need to be able to beat him."

"No, we wouldn't," Inari agreed, catching on. "We scout out the situation -- just like Naruto-sensei suggested. Then we make a plan, go in, and rescue them. We'll try to avoid combat if we can avoid it, but even if we are forced to fight... all we need to do is to keep him busy long enough to escape."

"I think... we have a plan," Chikan shot back, nodding. "And I suggest we start paying more attention to this Itachi guy -- he is the one we may have to fight, after all."

* * *

"Give it up, girl," Itachi said -- his voice still calm, despite the crazed look in his eyes. "You may be a Haruno, but all that means is that my mangekyou is not entirely effective against you. So what? My mangekyou wasn't a very effective technique for battle against the rest of my clan, either, but I was able to crush them all in one night."

Sakura, who had been pushing the limits of even her vast power in order to keep up with him in terms of strength and speed, gasped a few breaths. "So what?" she said. "Four years ago, Naruto-kun took out an entire village of ninja all by himself... and thanks to his training and the kyuubi's strength, I am now stronger then he was then. You aren't going to beat me by bragging, you know."

"Niether are you," Itachi growled. In a quick motion, he struck out with one of his brother's favorite techniques -- and one he had stolen from him with the sharingan -- the chidori. It plunged through her heart, shattering her spine and ribs along the way. "Now, get out of my way."

Sakura gaped, looking down at the wound in shock. "B-but..." she gasped. Itachi turned his attention to the fight involving Naruto... but something was wrong. The kyuubi brat, who shared some kind of link -- both emotional and physical -- with this girl, should have been affected by her state of near death. But he was ignoring it, which meant...

He spun back to face her, his expression darkening. "What--"

The dying figure on his arm spat some blood at him... that turned into tree sap on the way. "Sharingan ain't perfect, is it?" she commented... before transforming into a tree limb in a puff of smoke.

_They both can fool my eyes!_ he thought, gaping in what could no longer be called emotionless surprise. The control he had been holding over himself for all these years was starting to slip as he realized just how prepared these two were to fight him. That shock stopped him cold... long enough for three identical Sakuras, all of whom appeared to be real, descended on him fists flying. He smacked away two of them before the third reached attack range... and attack she did, complete with one of Naruto's trademark rasengan in palm.

The Akatsuki cloak that he still wore was sacrificed as he dodged away from the blow -- annoying, as he couldn't have it replaced, and terrifying, as it was actually a form of armor designed to withstand some rather powerful impacts. It did leave him free and loose, however, which would speed his movements up... fractionally. A finger striking the ground three feet from him caused a fissure to open up beneath his feet, and his newfound speed was the only thing which saved him from loosing his footing entirely. She was moving fast -- not too fast for his eye to pick up, but too fast for him to react after seeing it. Furthermore, there seemed to be an afterimage of red chakra sometimes which would and could strike out with just about as much power as her physical body could. Loathe as he was to admit it... without his mangekyou, he was overmatched against someone of her caliber.

Which meant, of course, he would have to use his mangekyou. _But it would be useless against her, so..._

He didn't have time to complete the thought in mental words after coming up with the plan, however -- what could only be described as a claw of chakra from the red-eyed Sakura tore through one of his arms. It fell to his side, utterly useless -- the muscles and tendons completely severed. A good medical ninja could repair it -- although it would take a very long treatment -- but for the moment it was out of the action... and that meant he couldn't form seals, nor perform standard techniques.

He took a moment to inventory what he could still do. He could use a kunai, still -- not that it would be very effective against a jinchuuriki. He had all the taijutsu he could manage with just one hand, which was a considerable amount. He had remarkable strength and speed -- not as much strength and speed as the girl, but enough to break bones with one hand if he could just get a good grip as his battle with Sasuke so many years ago proved. He could wield a sword if he had one -- it was not his sword arm that was wounded -- but his last sword had broken several years ago, and he'd never bothered to replace it. And... he could use the sharingan, including the mangekyou and all of its techniques.

"I suppose you think you will win, now," he growled, forcing the pain out of his voice. "But you are very wrong. Your small advantage shall prove to be your lover's downfall, for it forces me into an action I would rather not take."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What--"

He dashed away -- into the crowd of people fighting Naruto. Sakura ran to pursue, but was cut off by one of the jinchuuriki -- this one with visible characteristics resembling that of a badger growing on him as he fought -- and had to take the time to get him out of the way. She chose the most efficient method possible -- she clawed him in half and literally ran right through him, the fiery red kyuubi chakra incinerating the remains as she moved -- but the delay was enough for Itachi to reach his goal. Naruto, distracted by a shark-like ninja who was wielding a sword easily recognizable as the Samehada and a kunoichi who had grown cat-ears, didn't sense him until it was too late.

Itachi used his good arm to grasp him by the shoulder, squeezing hard enough to crack bones. His grip secure, he spun the blond-haired ninja around, and stared into his eyes... deploying the greatest weapons of the mangekyou on him as he did. The tsukiyomi was only one part of those -- over the years of hunting bijuu, he had modified it a number of ways to enhance its effect on their kind. The illusory world into which Naruto disappeared was not like the ones Kakashi and Sasuke had been tortured in -- instead, it was a prison of his own mind. There was no cure, as far as Itachi knew, short of the utter destruction of the jinchuuriki's host... and he had wanted to preserve this particular host's body as a 'present' for his younger brother, who he knew he would be confronting soon. It seemed he lacked the time to do that, however.

A great force crashed into him, snapping the bones in his ribs and knocking him off his feet. Itachi was crippled, and he knew it -- if his technique hadn't worked, he was as good as dead. He glanced over to see a woman standing over the body of the blond ninja he had just felled, flames of chakra seeming to come from her body. So it had failed -- the kyuubi had retreated into her, after all, leaving the boy to die. Or maybe not -- as he watched, the flames flickered and went out... and so did the light in the girl's eyes. And then all other signs of life, as she fell first to her knees, and then landed across the body of her fallen sealmate.

The battle was over, and Itachi had won. It was not without great cost, however, and he knew it would be ages before he could fight again. It would be worth it, however, if he could finally assemble the entire set of the jinchuuriki -- together, they would provide the Akatsuki the power of the gods. He slowly got to his feet -- he would have to be ready to move, for this couple he just defeated had allies in the region, and he was not in a fit state to fight them.

"Assemble!" he ordered. The psuedo-jinchuuriki he had created were not perfect -- they would start decaying and would die in only a few hours, their accellerated integration with the bijuu eroded their humanity, and they had no minds of their own -- but they did have the advantage of being controllable with zombie-like controls over them. So, they quickly assembled as ordered. Itachi pulled out seven boxes, each containing a spike and a seal on it. He stabbed one box into each of them, one at a time... extracting the bijuu, but killing the man behind it. He was too tired to pay attention to his line-up, so it was only after he ran out of standing bodies, still holding two boxes -- one intended for the kyuubi -- that he realized someone was missing. "What... Kaku! Kaku, come! Kaku, where are you?" he called, hoping the seven-tailed badger demon was just somehow out of hearing and not disobeying.

It took him a moment of surveying the battlefield to see that, indeed, Kaku was well out of hearing... ever. The few surviving remains of the body Sakura had plowed through were still smouldering... but there was no question: The seven-tailed bijuu's jinchuuriki had been destroyed... and, from what he could tell, the bijuu itself had been taken with him.

He glanced down with hatred at the two ninja he had just fought. "You... you have done this! You have ruined decades of work, decades of struggle, plans which have been in the preparation for hundreds of years -- the Akatsuki were formed six hundred years ago in order to carry out this plan, and we have been laying the groundwork with our intellectual descendants ever since -- and now, within a lifetime of its completion... you ruin everything! How... how..." He considered destroying them right then and there, but then decided on a crueler punishment. "Fine. No-one can get you out of your prison now, save for me -- and only if I release you from your bodies. But I won't do that -- I'll leave you here, kyuubi, and you can just rot in those bodies. You will die, as well, and there will be nothing to restore your remains, either..."

And so, with that declaration, he kicked each of them once, knocking them out of his path, and left. His dreams were gone... and now, it seemed, he had to find another goal. But first... he had to heal himself.

* * *

"Are... are they dead?" Inari asked, unable to believe his eyes. "Why is he just... leaving like that? I thought he was trying to capture them -- why is he just leaving them behind?"

"I... I don't know," Adaha said, looking out at the field, squinting. "I... they're alive, I can say that much. Look, you can still see the vapor of their breaths in this cold air... but they aren't looking very good."

"Neither is he," Inari growled, turning his eyes on the departing Itachi. "We should... we should stop him, while we can. Avenge them."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Chikan said. "Not if we want to keep Naruto-sensei and Sakura-sensei alive. As soon as he's out of sight, we need to go down there and help them."

Closing his eyes, Inari nodded. "Yes... I suppose that's best." Glaring once more at the missing nin's back, he continued, "But if they die, I'm going to hunt down that bastard and kill him, myself."

"What the-- Kakashi-sama?" Adaha cried softly, startled. That drew the attention of the other two back to the field, where Kakashi and two of the 'perpetual genin,' as they'd come to be known, from Ino's team were standing over the bodies of their two sensei. Checking on the bodies of the former jinchuuriki was an angry-looking Cloud ninja none of them recognized.

"Why's he here... and what is he doing?" Chikan asked, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

The Cloud ninja barked an order, and to all three observer's surprise, Kakashi and the other two went into action, coming over to pick up two of the bodies of the Cloud nin. "What's going on, here?" Adaha asked. "Kakashi-sama is taking orders from some sort of Cloud guy? That's... something fishy is going on, here."

Picking up the other six bodies (counting Naruto and Sakura), the Cloud ninja and the two genin started making their way back on the road... down to the village their original mission had been leading them towards. Inari grimmaced. "Well... I'm not sure what to make of that," he finally said. "But somehow... I don't think that this is good news for Naruto-sensei and Sakura-sensei."

"So... what are we going to do?" Chikan asked, effectively placing Inari in overall command of their two units.

Inari hesitated. There was a chance that Kakashi was actually going to be taking care of Naruto, and that the village was just the nearest place to get help... but somehow, he doubted it. There were just too many unknowns. Then again... his group was heading in a different direction from Itachi... so that helped the case of Kakashi coming along to help. And if he assumed that, he could go after Itachi with a clear conscience...

"We follow our orders... to a point. Naruto-sensei said that if he was captured, we were to observe where they have him captive and get help for a rescue mission. I say... we start working on a plan, now, and observe the village as a whole. Chikan-san -- I'm told you can summon dolphins?"

"Er, in theory," Chikan replied. "I can do it, but I have yet to summon one. I haven't exactly been operating near seawater, and don't exactly want to summon them just to let them die on dry land. I can summon fair-sized moles, however, so I know I have the chakra to summon a decent dolphin."

"Well, you're going to be putting that theory to the practice," Inari grinned. "We want to keep these guys where we can get at them -- in other words, we want to keep them here, so we need someone in the water around the fishing village docks to make sure they don't try and sneak them out by the water. Umiko-chan can set her eagles out to keep an eye in town and on the roads. And while the dolphins and the eagles are keeping them under observation, the rest of us will start planning a rescue mission..."

* * *

Notes: Well... that actually went a bit further then I expected (by a scene or two). Looks like I might be able to finish up the volume, soon.

Got all that? With all the mix of double agents and the like, the only real 'traitor' in Blossom is... Okanemoto Akane. Kakashi's a good guy, Tsunade's a good guy, Naruto's a good guy, even Pansuke and Butakatsu are good guys. And no, there will be no triple agents -- meaning Tsunade, Kakashi, Pansuke, and Butakatsu are all GENUINELY good guys. The major twists have all been twisted -- it's time for them to unravel.

Next Chapter: The ninja of Blossom arrive to help Inari, and he needs it -- he needs someone to go through the village for him and check out the safehouse Naruto and Sakura have been stashed inside. Thankfully, they have just the person for the job -- Kireme, the prostitute... and ninja auxilliary.


	60. V3 Chapter 50

Volume 3

Notes: Okay, a couple people missed something about Sakura's battle with Itachi. She is NOT a better fighter then Naruto... although she is, perhaps, on par with the him of four years before, as she has been apprenticed to Tsunade and learned most of her tricks, learned a bit of genjutsu, and learned under Orochimaru's former apprentice Anko and Jiraiya's former apprentice Naruto. In other words, she has a technique base from all THREE of the legendary sannin, the chakra of the kyuubi (shared with Naruto), and a bloodline which inherently counters Itachi's. Itachi's most important technique, his mangekyou, is rendered useless because of the Haruno bloodline, so Itachi would stand a significantly better chance against Naruto then Sakura -- especially as he seems to favor genjutsu, and no genjutsu would ever work on Sakura by this point (in fact, in my own notes, Itachi is rated above Naruto, still, although Naruto is, by now, one of the five most powerful fighters in the ninja world). To put it another way, Sakura matches up better against him then anyone else in the world, despite not being on par with him in terms of actual combat power. (Another instance of the 'snake-slug-toad' theme... I was considering having Itachi summon a snake -- learned during Orochimaru's time with the Akatsuki -- just to emphasize the point, but no opportunity presented itself for that. Another piece of data like 'the Grass Nin specialize in summoning bears' which may never come up, but which appears in my notes under 'Itachi's technique base.')

Itachi does have a bit of a problem, though -- Akatsuki, his organization, has been hunted down and systematically destroyed for several years. He and Zetsu are the only ones left, and their resources are pretty much nil. His only hope of success, it would seem, is to accomplish the goal NOW... and the only tools he has at his disposal are the seven bijuu he holds. So, he uses those resources, gambling on an all-or-nothing shot... and loses, since one of the bijuu is destroyed in the process. But that is why he used the bijuu -- and, as his strike against his own clan shows, it isn't necessarily against his nature to gamble on an all-or-nothing shot.

Well... when I made the decision to try and end the volume in this chapter (and yes, this is the final chapter of Volume 3 -- Volume 4 coming up soon), I didn't realize that would force me to make this the longest chapter of the fic so far (by word count, at least), nor that it would be harder and harder to write the further into the chapter I went. In hindsight, I could have posted this as two or even three chapters and gotten all three of them out at my more usual pace for this particular fic, but hindsight is always twentytwenty. Plus, I wasn't counting on having some of my professional work creep up on me and take about five days of work out of this at one point.

This fic earned an R-rating for sex (even in the censored copy) earlier on, but now it earns it for language as well. You have been warned.

* * *

Chapter 50

"Team leaders, report in," Konohamaru called through the radio. He, Ino, Pansuke, and Kireme were at an apparent battlefield, having joined Hanabi and her team -- initially set as one of the scouting parties he had sent ahead -- on the scene. There was an odd sword left behind from the battlefield, easily identifiable by reputation as the Samehada -- last seen in the possession of the Akatsuki -- which demanded further investigation, and so he had come up from his position with the main body and surveyed the field. As this whole mission had been on his initiative, he had become the de facto leader of the operation without realizing it. He didn't even think about how everyone responded to his orders without question, he just gave them and expected them to be followed.

"Anko here," came the first voice. "ANBU team is in flanking positions, and has detected no activity." Just where the ANBU had come from was yet to be explained. They were all young -- possibly about Konohamaru's own age, or even slightly younger -- but they seemed competent and efficient, and Anko had assured everyone of their reliability. 'Junior level' ANBU, yes, but still capable of performing any mission usually required of ANBU in Konoha.

"Ebisu here, with main force. Your team says they're ready to fight on your order." Ebisu had been without a team since Udon had passed his Jounin certification, but was acting as the commander of Konohamaru's usual team of genin. Considering Ebisu had been Konohamaru's teacher for more then a decade, it was not a difficult transition for them to make.

"Hana here," came another voice. "With main force, ready to go."

"Udon here. My team is also with the main, ready to go."

There was only one more team present on the mission. Jiraiya had been left in Blossom, to run the village while Kouji, Daichi, Nobori, Aoba, Matsuri, and the teams under thier command stayed with him. His advanced years were catching up with him, he had said, and his days of ninja combat were at an end... but he would make an effective administrator until such time as they could return. However, with those that had reported in all still in touch, Futaba and her team was starting to worry Konohamaru -- he had sent them on ahead quite some time previous, and had yet to hear back from them. He was sincerely hoping they were in communications range by now.

"Futaba here," came a very weak transmission, laced heavily with static. "Erm... we've made contact with Blossom Academy Year One Teams One and Two. I have information which shouldn't be put over the radio to relay."

Konohamaru frowned. So Sakura and Naruto's teams had been found... but what of them? Wouldn't she have mentioned that if she knew where they were? This just left him with more questions then he liked to have. "Acknowledged. You should know where we are -- come find us."

"On our way."

It was only ten minutes before she appeared, accompanied by her dogs, her team, and all six chuunin members of the two teams she had mentioned. Inari looked confident but rather frustrated. "Konohamaru-san," he said, greeting the other boy.

"Inari-san," Konohamaru nodded in acknowledgement. "What's going on? Where are they?"

There was no question who the 'they' was that he was referring to. Inari sighed. "Kakashi-sama, Akane-san, and Butakatsu-san were seen taking Sakura-sensei and Naruto-sensei in the company of an unidentified ninja into the fishing village up the road. Naruto-sensei had been... hurt... in a battle with the missing nin Uchiha Itachi, and whatever hit him also affected Sakura-sensei, and last we saw both were unconscious. We were under orders to observe the battle and not join in, but to follow and get reinforcements if they were captured." The guilt in his face couldn't be missed, even by the most oblivious of observers. "I should have ignored that and gone to help them anyway."

"Against seven bijuu and arguably the most powerful missing nin in all of Konoha's history?" Chikan snorted. "Inari, give it up. I know you're upset, but because we didn't fight we now have an actual chance of saving him."

Inari shook his head as if to clear it. "Anyway, last we saw Sakura-sensei and Naruto-sensei were still alive. Umiko-chan and Chikan-san have employed summoned creatures in order to keep an eye on the situation, but... we're going to need better infiltration then we have to obtain the necessary intelligence before making a plan. We were working on how to get that intelligence when Futaba-san showed up."

Ino shot a glance at Kireme before stepping forward. "What kind of intelligence?"

"We've identified the building we know they were taken to," Inari said. "But... we're still not sure just what is going on, or what kind of force is inside the building. Kakashi-sama was acting wierd, taking orders from a Cloud ninja we couldn't identify, but... well, he's Kakashi-sama, and we weren't even entirely sure that anyone needed rescuing at all."

"Kakashi is a double agent for Konoha," Pansuki explained. "He's been trying to insinuate himself inside of a Cloud organization in order to identify its leadership and facilities for years. Butakatsu-san is also a double agent, as was I until the plans called for me to have a recent 'change of heart.' Akane-san has been truly corrupted by this Cloud organization, however. Chances are, while Kakashi-sensei and Butakatsu-san will be on our side, they are currently with some part of that rebel organization right now. They're also, probably, unable to act at the moment."

"You say you need help gathering some intelligence," Ino said, looking once more at Kireme before turning her attention back on the teenager. "Well... I've got an idea..."

* * *

It was a good thing Kireme had known how to change her appearance since long before she even met her first real ninja. It was a highly regarded skill in her field -- often times, people would have fantasies about particular individuals, and so it was good to know how to apply a disguise -- one that wouldn't come off during any 'activity' she might be involved in, even the oh-so-rare underwater or bondage and domination experiences -- that could fool her customers... which would include Akane, who was frequently seen in her brothel. And she didn't need to use any chakra to manage it, either, which meant no-one would peg her as a ninja in disguise like might happen if Ino or Pansuke had attempted this particular operation.

There had been no gate-keepers for this town. This was a plan she had come up with long ago, for use in the village of Cloud when Naruto was believed to have been captured back then... but obviously, there were differences. Hana and Futaba's dogs had gone in first, as originally planned for the Cloud operation, scouting areas and setting themselves up as strays in order to be able to respond to Kireme and protect her should the need arise -- there were a considerable number of considerations made, as she wasn't really skilled in combat despite having learned a few ninja techniques... and despite practicing for an hour or two a day with a kunai. Only a very few people knew of her real combat training -- largely consisting of the shuriken work -- and all but one of them were currently in the building she was attempting to infiltrate. Haruno Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto had all been quite helpful to her endeavors... and the only other person who knew was her madame at the brothel. Even Ino, her best friend in Blossom, was unfamiliar with her practice sessions -- she only knew that Kireme had qualified as a Ninja Auxilliary, as everyone else in the village knew. And kunai wasn't the only thing she was skilled with... although she would never be able to fight a real ninja in mortal combat. She could, however, easily handle unruly patrons who were fighting drunk... some of whom were, indeed, ninja.

Then Umiko had summoned what birds she could. The young teenager had spent three years building up her chakra to the point that she could use that skill, and now could call out as many as three eagles... albeit small ones. They were of little use in combat, but they could accomplish other things if needed. She already had one out, keeping an eye on the specific building in which the Cloud were held up, and sent two more to act as messengers if Kireme needed them. So, with the animals in place, she was allowed to go on in... and there, the first and most significant difference between the Cloud plan and this one occurred. With Cloud, she was expecting to be challenged at the gate, and had the prepared excuse of plying her trade at the chuunin exam. Here, however, there was no gate to pass... and no chuunin exam to use as an excuse.

She was a prostitute by trade, and could go anywhere looking for work. Without some sort of excuse, however, it would look awfully suspicious for a 'stranger' to show up, even one looking for work. Especially to a village known for having recently decided to launch a morals campaign... an odd place for an unemployed prostitute to decide to go looking for work, to be certain. So, she chose a method of entering the town that might draw a bit more attention to herself then she would have liked, but would give her a good reason for being in town.

It took the help of Chikan and his dolphins. With their help, she was swum out to a place in the water near an active fishing boat. There, she started calling for 'help.' It wasn't long before a 'rescue' was on the way, and she was dragged aboard. Her story of having been hired as the 'entertainment' for a boat and then dumped overboard by the crew so they wouldn't have to pay aroused enough sympathy for the crew to ignore their prejudices against prostitutes, and so she was bundled back into the village and given a helping hand. After a nice warm-up around a fire and a free room at an inn for the night (with the promise that she not use it for 'professional' purposes while she was in the village), she was allowed to make her way around town without harrassment.

She started asking about 'local brothels' at which she could 'earn the money to return home' from some of the... seedier locals, just to maintain her cover, and discovered that while prostitution was viewed with dislike around the village, it had yet to be made illegal, for there was indeed a brothel in that same village. She decided to at least put on the appearance of trying to 'reassemble her life' -- after all, as long as Naruto and Sakura were still in this village, there was no hurry -- and so decided to go and visit it... but only after stopping at a local cafe for breakfast.

She had heard a fuss the day before -- while she was also being fussed over -- about a pleasure craft coming in from Lightning country and certain minor dignitaries leaving the boat. That was a bit disturbing, but unless the boat tried to leave there was no need to sound any sort of alarm. It did complicate matters, however, as she saw several Cloud ninja walking around town, unafraid to show the symbols of their forehead protectors despite the fact they were inside Blossom village's territory -- their presence could be considered an act of war. Except apparently it wasn't, because they were merely escorting whoever this 'minor dignitary' was supposed to be. The exact politics of the situation was, quite frankly, over Kireme's head... but she still knew it wasn't right.

She was on her way to the cafe when, surprisingly, she was approached on a professional level.

"Hello, miss," the man said, smiling at her lecherously. "What are your rates?"

She glanced him up and down. He wasn't bad looking, she supposed, but there was something about him she didn't like. She couldn't refuse him without blowing her cover, however... but perhaps she could make him lose interest.

"I'm off the clock right now," she replied, letting her years of experience put that fawning tone most of her customers liked into her voice. "I'm on my way to breakfast, and I've always been told to never take a customer when I'm hungry. Come find me when I'm done, though, and we'll make a deal."

His grin smoothed out, becoming less lecherous and more... indulgent. "I'm hungry, too. Tell you what -- I'll treat you to breakfast, and we can discuss a deal while we eat?"

_Argh! I was expecting him to get a clue, but I suppose that's asking too much from the sort of person who wouldn't go to a liscenced and regulated brothel when one was available,_ she thought in frustration. _This is the kind of guy who carries disease, too... so I'd better make sure he isn't going for my services because he thinks I won't demand medical checks, either. Maybe that'll get him off my hair. _She didn't let her doubt show on her face, however. "Certainly, sir," she chirped.

"So, slut," he said, addressing her rudely... but not as rudely as some customers did. She didn't let her distaste show on her face -- instead, appearing as eager as she always did in her professional capacity -- which seemed to encourage him somehow. "What is your name?"

"Ume," she replied, using the name she had decided upon as a disguise, basing it on her real name -- a 'plum' instead of a 'cherry,' but still a small fruit common to the area she was born.

"Heh... interesting. Plum wine for breakfast, it is," he laughed. "And possibly just the plums for dessert, eh?"

She laughed with him, although that didn't stop her from mentally cringing. _Wine for breakfast?_ she thought. _How... uncivilized. And who ever heard of dessert after _breakfast?

It had been several years since she had to take a customer she didn't approve of. As much of a veteran as she was, she had earned the right to pick her clients, avoiding the part of the job she liked the least... at least, she had at the brothel. Here, however, she was a complete unknown in what appeared to be a desperate situation -- if she really were in the situation she claimed, she would have no choice but to take this man as a client... and she couldn't avoid it if she wanted to keep her cover.

"I like plum wine," she answered truthfully -- although she didn't for breakfast. "But we'll have to talk about 'dessert.'"

"It's just a matter of setting a price, right?" he asked, guiding her into the cafe. "Two, please -- and in a quiet corner. We have business to discuss."

The lone waiter sniffed in disgust, but it wasn't worth the loss of business to refuse him. "Of course," he replied, leading them to a booth.

"Don't bother with a menu -- just send us two of your most filling breakfast dishes. Oh, and a bottle of plum wine."

"Plum wine? At this hour? Are you... um, I mean, certainly, sir," the waiter said, bowing hesitantly. "Right away."

Kireme shook her head. "Now, look -- it really is more then just setting a price," she said. "I would really rather just set myself up in the local brothel instead of trying to freelance my way through this town. At a brothel, they have medical care, access to special products, security, and comfortable rooms outfitted especially for pleasing a man. Now, I can do without some of that, as long as you can -- I don't need the special products or the specially outfitted rooms... but brothels typically provide enough medical care that I can be certain that the customer doesn't have some sort of disease. If you wish to hire me, you are going to need to present me with some sort of assurance that I won't catch any diseases from you... and your word isn't enough. From now on, I don't take anyone's word -- you pay me in advance, you provide a clean bill of health, and we won't be engaging in any sort of bondage sessions."

The man raised an eyebrow. "You have high standards, Ume. The whores where I'm from wouldn't make any such requirements."

Kireme snorted in disgust. "Then the 'whores' where you are from are idiots, or inexperienced lunatics, or masochists. I've learned the hard way not to trust my customers unless there is something to hold over them -- like the security at a brothel, or a payment in advance. And I know better then to risk ruining my career -- and my life -- on someone's word that they are healthy."

"Fair enough," he replied, laughing slightly as he back into my chair. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yobutsu Ogata, and I just came into town on that ship recently. I would like to hire a few whores to be part of my entourage while I'm in town, and you are the first one I've seen."

Kireme recognized the name -- Pansuke had given out a brief rundown of what she knew on the organization Kakashi had been trying to penetrate, and Ogata was the only name she felt worth mentioning, as he was their leader. This was... not necessarily a good thing if she wanted to play it safe, but if she risked a little and played her cards right might prove to be just what she needed. Still, she couldn't too eager, all of a sudden.

"A whole entourage, just for little old me?" she said with saccarine sweetness. "How many in this entourage, and how soon could you get them medically checked?"

"Oh, a dozen or so. All ninja -- my protection. One of them is a medical ninja, and could do the check-ups in an hour or so."

"Hm, and I'm supposed to trust your 'medical ninja?'" Kireme asked, smiling slightly.

"Unless you have a better solution?" Ogata shot back.

"I think I'll have to adjust my 'price' a bit if I were to trust him. It is a him, right? I don't work with girls," she explained.

Ogata seemed momentarily thrown. "You don't? Hm. Well, that's another matter, but I think we can work around it -- I don't think she's too likely to be interested at this point. No, the particular medical ninja I am considering is a male. There may be one small problem, but I think we can work around them, as well. Ten ninja, then. Plus myself, of course."

Kireme nodded slowly. "Hm, and you expect me to be with you the entire time you are in town?"

"Yes. I should only be about a week at most -- probably much less. We're waiting for a _special_ visitor, who should be here any day now."

Well, that was certainly interesting. Who would this visitor be? Kireme wondered if she should take that visitor in account when she made her report -- if Naruto and Sakura were safe and sound despite their captivity, then maybe it would be better to wait and find out. Then again, she wasn't really a ninja, and this wasn't part of her mission -- her mission was to find out what the situation was in the Cloud safe house, and report on it to the forces waiting outside. She decided to play it by ear, and see what she thought. At any rate, there were a few things she already knew she could report -- that there were probably thirteen guards, and one of them was Ogata. She might also mention the 'special visitor,' but she would have to see how much she could manage to slip into her note.

"Three hundred ryou a day per ninja," she finally said. "And that's only if your name isn't on the blacklist at the local brothel -- I need to go there, anyway, to report the people who tried to kill me in order to stiff me, and you'd better believe I'm going to be checking on you when I do."

"Three thousand ryou a day?" Ogata whistled. "That's a bit more then I'd expect. I'm not sure I've got that much on hand."

Kireme snorted. "It's cheaper then you'd get from the brothel. It just so happens I'm in a bit of a desperate situation, or it would be five hundred a day per person. And the brothel will charge you a thousand."

"Knock the price down a bit, and we'll talk," Ogata said. "Three hundred is too steep."

Kireme paused. She rarely haggled over prices, but this was important. Still...

"Tell you what. I'll go to the brothel and see if you're blacklisted. I don't trust people who haggle with my prices, to be blunt. But if your name hasn't hit the blacklists, then I'll come over wherever it is you're staying and see the people you want me to 'entertain.' If I like what I see, I'll do it for 250 a person. I can't afford to go any lower."

Ogata frowned. "That's still quite a bit of money..."

"Take it or leave it -- I could make more if I just hired myself out at the brothel part-time," Kireme snorted. "You pay my price, I'll fawn all over you and your friends all you want, and I'll do just about anything you want that doesn't involve tying me up, but you have to actually pay me a reasonable rate. Anything less is quite unreasonable. We're talking several days straight of 'performance,' here -- you're asking one girl to do what you really need ten for. Trust me, I'm not ripping you off here -- this is the best price you will find _anywhere._"

Ogata shook his head, sighing. "Is the three hundred, sight unseen, still on the table? We've got some rough looking people -- I assure you that you'll be perfectly safe, but I'm not sure you'd believe that at first glance."

Kireme hesitated. his 'rough-looking' people were probably the real reason he approached a street girl instead of hiring from a respectable brothel, but it was also a reason many girls would refuse to do the job for so low a price -- she wasn't kidding, she was offering him better rates then he'd get just about anywhere else. It probably wouldn't be good for her cover to accept -- at least, not without adding more provisions. Yet it wouldn't be good for her mission to turn him down. She'd just have to come up with some sort of compromise. Or at least a convincing excuse for accepting after all.

"Tell you what," she said. "Yes, I'll keep the three hundred ryou price as an option -- after all, I was willing to take that without checking, before. After checking those blacklists, I'll see if you guys are as bad as you say." Then, giving him her most seductive smile, she reached across the table and stroked his cheek to let him 'sample' the smoothness of her skin and to smell the sweetness of her perfume -- a sales trick she had been taught her first year in the brothel. "If I think you're exaggerating things, then maybe I'll agree to lower the price after all."

She felt him shudder under her hand. Obviously, it had been a while for him... that, or he was a bit of a pervert. "Deal," he sighed.

She leaned back in her chair, smiling a very satisfied grin -- both for striking a deal, which she would have been pleased about in any circumstance, and for having found a way into thier hideout. "Good. But first... breakast."

With that, she nodded over at the waiter... who had obviously been waiting for their conversation to end before bringing over their meal. She'd have to remember this place if she ever came back here -- obviously, despite any moral misgivings to the contrary, this cafe knew how a girl like her liked to do business.

* * *

The council of war leading the encampment around the nameless fishing village gathered together when the first message arrived from Kireme. She had sent it on paper, tied to a leg on one of Umiko's eagles, and the message was a bit hard to read. It appeared that she was in a hurry when she wrote it, but the eagle (which, indeed, was able to talk -- albeit with a thick accent. Umiko had yet to summon any creature which could fluently speak human, although many of her animal train could at least communicate in a rudimentary language that was a mixture of body language and human) attested to the fact that she had not been under any duress. In fact, she had been on the recieving end of a lot of support from the local brothel, which had agreed to help her out once they figured out who she was -- apparently, Kireme Sakura was a name well known to the brothels of Wave country, and any of them would be honored to have her owe them a favor.

There was a considerable amount of brevity in her words, although the message contained a number of data points. "Ogata in town as 'foriegn dignitary.' Admits to having at least thirteen ninja in the village. One of thirteen female, another medical nin, another Ogata. Apparently awaiting 'special visitor' due to arrive in few days -- no more then 1 week. Until visitor arrives, not likely to move. I'm invited into safehouse as 'entertainment.'"

The contents themselves may have been brief in nature, but the debate they sparked most assuredly was not. For the first time since starting his venture, Konohamaru's authority was being challenged... and he had no leg to stand on to reclaim it. After recieving this particular bit of intelligence, he had one plan he wanted to go through... but Inari wanted to push forward with a different plan entirely, and he had been planning this operation for almost a whole day more then Konohamaru himself could possibly have... and, well, Konohamaru found himself wanting to use Inari's plan, but knowing it would be better for them to follow his own.

"Look, Inari... I want to go in and rescue him just as much as you do," he sighed, his voice strained with exhaustion and concern. "But let's face facts, here. Kakashi-sama has spent the past five years working on this plan, and Naruto-kun has been working with him on it for at least the past three. Naruto knew he might be captured, it seems, but went along with it anyway. Do you want to waste all of the years those two have spent on this project, just because you lack the patience to see it through for them? As best as we can tell -- at least until we have information to the contrary -- he's safe and sound. Yes, he's been captured, but they seem to want him alive for some reason, so he'll be okay. If we can intercept this 'special visitor,' then his mission will have been a success. If not... then Kakashi-sensei has just wasted the past five years of his life, and Naruto-kun just fought to the brink for nothing."

"Naruto-sensei ordered us to rescue him if he was captured!" Inari insisted, slamming his fist onto the stone they were using as a table. The stone cracked slightly, but he didn't even notice... although Konohamaru and just about everyone else present did. "The lives of our team members -- or, in this case, our friends and teachers -- is supposed to be the most important thing to us!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Konohamaru finally exploded, losing a temper he had been spending almost an hour of rather heated debate bottling up. "Don't you think I know that Naruto-kun's life is more important than some stupid mission? Hell, I almost left our entire home village of Blossom completely defenseless to rescue him, and if it hadn't been for Shizune-sama showing up and reminding me of the need to protect our friends and family at home, I likely would have! And everyone would have followed me, too, knowing just what we were doing! But right now... right now, we don't lose anything by waiting, and we have everything to gain -- more intelligence, the chance of discovering who this secret visitor is, possibly even the chance to finish Kakashi-sama and Naruto-kun's mission for them. And... and think of it this way: Do you really think Naruto-kun would appreciate it if we saved his life, only to start a war that cannot be won with the Cloud in the process? Because I fear if we play this wrong, we just might start a war -- this Ogata jerk sounds like the sort of person who would claim we were the aggressors, and any proof to the contrary would be 'just an attempt to frame him.' Because, right now, all we have is the hearsay evidence of Kakashi-sensei and Pansuki-chan... which bloody well won't be enough to stop a war, and just might be enough to start one. But, if we wait and catch this guy red-handed, then there's no way he would be able to talk his way out of it, we'll have rescued everyone, and the Raikage will owe us a favor, and not have to launch a war against us. So... as long as Naruto-kun is still safe, captive or not, I'm not going in there."

Ino hesitated. "Konohamaru-kun... I hate to bring this up, because I think you're right about the whole war thing, but I think... I think there's something else you should consider. Or rather, someone else."

"Yeah?" he snapped, unwilling to be reasonable. "Who? Sakura-kun? I know she's in danger, too, but she'll be safe as long as Naruto-kun is."

"No," Ino said, unable to meet his eyes. "Someone... perhaps a bit closer to you. I was listening closely when Inari-kun explained what happened during Naruto-dono's fight. I don't really know what it is that Itachi did to them, but... I think it's a pretty good chance he was actually doing it to kyuubi." She paused. "And there is no way of knowing how that is going to affect Moegi-chan."

The sudden realization felt like a dagger in his gut, but Konohamaru nodded bravely... at first. "I... I hadn't thought about it. But I... oh, hell." For the first time since finding out there was a problem, he was feeling overwhelmed. He collapsed to the ground, unable to hold himself upright, and pulled his legs up in a fetal position. He rested his head on his knees and closed his eyes. "What am I supposed to do? I... my love, my mentor, and my leader are all in danger. I can go in and rescue them, killing anything which gets in our way, and I could save them -- I could save them all! I know it, you know it, everyone else knows it, too. But... but but but but _but!_ There is always a but! Dammit!" He felt tears going down his face, but couldn't even wipe them away. "I want to do what Inari says. I want to go in and rescue them. I want to storm inside that village, deliver the greatest ass whipping of all time, and pull out our friends. And I want Moegi-chan to be safe. But if I do that... will any of them really be safe? We'll start a war, a war we cannot win... unless we involve Konoha, which we still won't win since we'll be trapped in the middle, and Konoha will be left open for our enemies to strike out at. The thing I want to do is go with your plan, Inari-kun." Finally, he looked up, meeting the other boy's now guilt-stricken face. "I _really_ want to go with your plan. But... it isn't the right thing to do. And you know it, too."

Ino hesitated. "You once told Naruto-dono that you wanted to be hokage some day, Konohamaru-kun," she said.

He frowned at her. "Yeah, I did. But how do you know that?"

She grimmaced slightly. "Long story -- basically, I've got a copy of thirteen-year-old Naruto's memories in my head thanks to a mission that had certain unplanned difficulties. But that isn't important. What's important is... as hokage, you will have to make hard decisions like these. Sometimes, those decisions may require you to sacrifice someone you care about in order to protect the lives of everyone else important to you -- your friends, your family, your village. Naruto-dono accepted that it would be a part of his job as hokage to make those decisions a long time ago... but resolved that he would become greater then the hokage by always getting both those important to him and everyone else out safely. I think he hasn't always succeeded -- Sasuke-kun would be one such example -- but he tries. And he tries with such a point of obsession I fear he might break, one day, if he does have to choose. I think he'd die, himself, before he'd make that choice -- in fact, I know he would, because he developed a kinjutsu he intended to use only in such a situation."

"And?" Konohamaru asked harshly, not seeing the point.

"Naruto-dono knows he may have to sacrifice himself, one day, in order to keep those closest to him alive and safe," Ino continued, her voice cracking slightly. "I think he'd be willing to just stay in that village and rot if it meant keeping everyone else safe. But... I don't think he'd risk Sakura-chan's life... or Moegi-chan's. I think he'd expect you to rescue them, and then _he_ will take over and work out how to stop the war. I think... I think if you want to be a hokage as great as he intends to be, you will work your way around that hard choice, just as he would, and that might be to attack now."

Konohamaru paused to consider those words, then sighed. "He might be willing to take the risk... but I fear I'll never be able to match him as 'greater then the hokage.' I'll have to settle for doing what is right, just as the hokage would do... and keep our camp here until the last possible moment." He paused. "Naruto-kun could do it, and I suspect he would get it right. But I am not him. I am not even my grandfather. If I ever become a hokage, I will have to be me... and I can't do the wrong thing just because it _might_ turn out okay."

"Good words, young man," a new voice said, coming from the shadow of a nearby tree. An elderly ninja, bearing the mark of the Cloud, stepped out into the sun, squinting slightly as he did. His beard was grey, his hair white, his eyes wrinkled and worn. And he walked with a limp. "I've heard everything. You will be a great hokage some day, I suspect... and so might this Naruto, if he is half as good as you all seem to think he is."

"Who are you?" Inari demanded, suddenly standing between him and Konohamaru, kunai drawn defensively. The remaining five members of Naruto and Sakura's team lined up flanking them, ready to fight to the death. Apparently, whatever differences they had didn't keep him from treating Konohamaru as his leader, either.

The old man laughed. "Well, there are two answers I could give to that. The first is that I am that 'special visitor' that Ogata is expecting... although I don't think he quite realizes it's me, yet. The second thing I could tell you is that I am Kanraku Oyadama, better known as the Third Raikage. Kakashi-dono and apparently this Naruto fellow have been working on my behalf for years... so I would feel modestly obligated to help you all out in saving their lives. Are you willing to let me help?"

Konohamaru stepped forward, walking through the line of people who had decided to defend him. "If you are who you say you are, sir... I don't think I have any choice but to accept."

Oyadama nodded. "Good... now, let's get to work, shall we?"

* * *

Kireme knocked on the door of the 'temporary embassy of the Cloud,' as Ogata had called it, fidgetting slightly. As soon as the door started to open, she would put on her usual 'I'm just an empty-headed whore here for your pleasure' face, but until then she reserved the right to be nervous about this. True to her word, she made certain Ogata's name was not on any of the blackball lists that circulated from brothel to brothel. She'd also sent out her report, and verified with the local madame just who she was and why she was there. Any accusations of 'stealing their business' were quickly set aside when it was learned that she was trying to help rescue Naruto and Sakura -- two of the nation of Wave's greatest heroes.

So, she probably knew about as much about these people as anyone in town did, as well as the things that Naruto had been sent to this village to find out in the first place. The origins of the 'moral crusade' against Blossom had, indeed, been started here -- and by people now known to 'associate' with these Cloud ninja. It started to dawn on Kireme that the waiter in the cafe wasn't looking down on _her, _as much as he was ticked off that he and his village were being used by this man known to be an agent of the Cloud. It helped to explain why she had been treated so nicely by everyone after her 'rescue,' and why she hadn't been snubbed as much as she had been expecting. These people had been used by the Cloud, and now they knew it... and there was a bit of a backlash going on. In fact, those people who knew she had conducted a 'business deal' with Ogata were now looking at her in askance more, now, then they had when she first arrived. If these people thought they could fight against ninja, Kireme mused, they'd probably be rioting against Ogata by now.

It took almost a full minute for the door to open -- during which time she had the uncomfortable sensation of being watched. Obviously, they didn't quite trust her fully -- which was very smart of them -- and wanted to make sure she wasn't bringing in any 'surprises' with her as she came. Finally, Ogata himself appeared at the door.

"Ah, I see your little inquiry about us at the brothel didn't turn up anything too damaging, huh?"

"I still want to see a clean bill of health before I'll let any of you touch me," Kireme warned, wanting at least some control over this situation. "But I need the money too much to pass up this chance, and they didn't have your name in any of their record books."

"Of course, of course," Ogata said, dismissing her concerns with a careless wave of his hand as he lead her inside and closed the door. "Now, let me show you around our little place -- or at least, those areas of it where you will be allowed to enter. Then I will take you to our medic, who will perform whatever tests you want. But I want some company this evening, and I imagine so do several of my men."

Kireme nodded, smiling pleasantly, though inside she was dreading the prospect of actually having to perform her professional duties with these people. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to 'sleep' with the 'enemy' as it was -- that, in and of itself, was an expected hazard in her profession -- it was trying to fulfill the fantasies of ten men in one night. She had done it, before, back when she was just starting out in the business and in very high demand, but one quickly learned ones limits, and ten was quite high. She had _heard_ of girls who managed as many as a hundred men in one night, but those who could handle more then two or three a night on a regular basis were quite rare even in her profession. As a 'special occasion' most girls would be willing to pull as many as four or five, but ten... was hard to manage. And usually required a significant amount of recovery time... time she wouldn't have if this had to go more then one night. She would quite literally be expected to do the work of five women, and she probably wouldn't like any of her clients in the process.

Ogata was shuttling her around, mocking her with false courtesy. For some reason, many men loved to treat 'professional' women like herself with a sort of sarcastic honor -- sneering at her as they addressed her as 'your ladyship' or some other title of fiegned nobility. She never understood it, but -- as her work demanded -- she accepted it and treated the 'kind' words as if they were the most sincere flattery. One of the things she truly loved about working in Blossom was that there were almost no clients who acted that way -- a few did, enough for her to keep in practice keeping her 'flattered' face on, but few enough that she rarely had to deal with them. She had long suspected it had something to do with Blossom being a ninja town, where women -- possibly the ninja's own mother, sisters, or daughters -- could one day be called upon to fulfill a duty much as the one they were hiring her to do. She had thought that would make ninja respect women like her a little better, and so any ninja would treat her well. This man, however, was proving that theory to be not quite as universal as she might have hoped.

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, so she turned to look at what she thought could be one of her 'clients.' When she did, however, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in real, genuine shock. This, perhaps, was the one thing which a real prostitute like herself would be astonished to see, whereas a ninja pretending to be a prostitute -- like, say, Pansuke or Ino would have done had they taken her role in this assignment -- would have had to fake shock, if they'd even been aware that this was something to be shocked about seeing. For, while the person stepping out of the room they were next to might be considered a human being by another ninja... he didn't look a thing like any human she had ever seen. Rather, he looked like some sort of plant-based alien creature -- paint-like black on one side of the face, paint-like white on the other, wierd costume all around, and... what looked like a flower bloom or leaves or something like that circling his body.

Ogata looked a bit uncomfortable as well. "Um, ahem, allow me to introduce you to a friend of ours. Zetsu, this is Ume, our entertainment for this evening."

Zetsu glanced her up and down, then let out a hideous laugh. "Our entertainment, huh? And just how is she supposed to be entertaining us?"

The Cloud leader frowned. "The kind all of us can enjoy -- she will not become your 'treat.' In fact, we will be paying her for her service and actually treating her well. She is a professional courtesan, and not a slave. Understood."

The odd-looking being frowned. "But how is that 'entertaining' for me?"

"Your partner has abandoned us, from what we've been told," Ogata growled. "And you have yet to prove yourself as reliable. We will not be making special accomodations for you until you do."

Zetsu's eyes narrowed. "Is that so? Well, then, I suppose I'll just have to 'prove myself,' won't I?" With that, he turned and left.

Kireme watched him leave, horror stricken. Shaking her head to clear it, she said, "If that's a sample of the ninja you hired me to work for this week, I think you can pretty much count on me charging you the full three hundred per person. And maybe a bit more."

Ogata visibly shivvered. "Sorry about that. He is _not_ one of those I hired you to entertain. Involving myself with him and his organization has been a terrible mistake, I fear... especially now that Akatsuki has apparently dissolved with this latest setback of theirs, and so he's just a freelancer."

Kireme shrugged, trying to shake off the disgust she felt at the former Akatsuki member. "Well... we'll see. I'm definitely going to want the money in advance, now, as well as the medical check-up. Three hundred a person per night, payable early enough for me to get it into a bank."

"I'll round up the money for tonight and escort you to the bank, myself," Ogata said, shaking his head. "I didn't think there would be a problem like this, but I'm a bit worried about what Zetsu might try, so you'll be under my protection until we can leave town."

_Damn,_ Kireme thought. _So much for any chance of getting more messages out. I'm sure that everyone would want to know about Zetsu, as well._

He finally lead her to a room that was obviously a makeshift hospital. There was a blanket hanging to make one side of the room private, although she caught sight of some feet on a bed -- familiar feet, as it turned out. Apparently, Sakura -- at least -- was being treated here. Possibly Naruto as well, although she couldn't see him. She decided to make her first play to try and confirm that they were there.

"Are those people my clients?" she asked, walking over to peer around the blanket. Indeed, it was Naruto and Sakura, being looked at by someone she didn't recognize wearing a Cloud on a chain around his neck, alongside a metal square embossed with the medical symbol usually worn by paramedics in civilian circles. "They don't look too bad, but I thought I told you I didn't do girls."

The medic looked up sharply, eyes narrowed and alert for action. They softened a bit when they saw Ogata step up behind her, and then he smiled pleasantly when he realized who she was supposed to be. "I'm afraid they aren't going to be doing anything for a while, missy. I'm not quite sure what's wrong with them, but they're apparently in some sort of coma. It's not your concern, though... but I'm told that you do have concerns that involve _me._ I assure you, missy, that I will make every effort to provide you with accurate medical records. Believe me, if someone is carrying some kind of disease that you could transfer, I'm going to want to know about it myself -- after all, I'm also going to be one of your clients."

Doctors were often odd clients, sometimes wanting to perform wierd medical procedures (which she always made sure were safe) that they couldn't do to normal patients -- things such as taking a gynecological exam past the professional level and the like. The kink was sometimes a pleasant chance, but sometimes quite uncomfortable, and Kireme couldn't get a good read on the man to know which way he'd take it... if, indeed, he would try anything at all. "Well, until I see those results, the most I'm going to be doing for you guys is a little show," she cautioned. "You can look all you want, but no touching until I'm comfortable it's safe."

"Of course," the doctor said, bowing in acknowledgement. "If you want, I'll even let you watch as I conduct the tests."

"Thank you, I think I will," Kireme replied. It was certainly a good idea -- she would be seeing almost all of the ninja by doing so, and could stick by Naruto and Sakura in the process. Plus, it was something she would have insisted upon even if she wasn't trying to spy on these 'clients' of hers.

"Why don't I start with you, Ogata-sama?" the doctor suggested. "Then you can send in the others."

He agreed, and so the medical ninja started his work. The examinations went along smoothly, and Kireme was able to follow enough of what was going on to feel reassured she wasn't being lied to... which was certainly reassuring, since there was the possibility she would have to actually perform her duties with one or more of these people before the whole adventure was over. The first four were no problem, and the fifth -- who she recognized easily as Okanemoto Akane, the only 'true' traitor of the bunch that Cloud had been known to approach -- was uneventful, even if she felt rather tense during the whole time the examination was going on.

The sixth person, however, was someone else she recognized. Hatake Kakashi, the man whose mission lead to this whole situation, was someone she knew fairly well -- after all, not only was he the leader of Blossom (well, really, he was just a figurehead for the most part -- Naruto had been forced into the role of 'leader from behind the scenes'), he was also an occasional customer of the brothel... one she, herself, had worked with on occassion. She knew all about his sharingan eye... and that eye was open and revealed from the moment he came into the office.

To her, it was fairly obvious he had seen through her disguise from the first moment. While she knew he wouldn't intentionally give anything away, she was worried that one or both of them would accidentally do something to reveal that they knew each other in the past... which would definitely lead to certain awkward questions from the other ninja. Indeed, the medical ninja picked up on it right away.

"Is something wrong, Kakashi-san?" he asked.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at her. "Hm. Probably not, probably not. I'm just trying to decide whether or not I want to ask you to give her some medical tests or not -- I know that I'm clean, but I'm not so sure about some random girl off of the streets. I still say we should have gone with one of the liscened brothels which require its members to screen their employees constantly."

Kireme's eyes widened in surprise -- this, certainly wasn't a tact she was expecting -- and then narrowed in feigned anger. "Excuse me? I may be displaced, but I am not just a 'random girl off hte streets.' I already _have_ my medical records -- I made sure the local brothel verified them, thank you very much. And why would I be insisting on all this testing from you if I weren't careful myself? Hmph!"

The doctor laughed. "Well, I wish I'd known that sooner. I've been collecting samples from you without letting you know it, because I wasn't sure I trusted you to be clean either. They'll be processed at the same time as everyone elses."

Kireme wasn't worred -- there was nothing revealing in her blood that would show that she was anything but a high-end prostitute, and she was absolutely certain she was as clean, medically, as she could be. Even her dyed hair would reveal nothing -- prostitutes, even high class ones, often colored their hair to whatever was most fashionable or most exotic at the time. Still, she was rather perturbed that he could do such a thing without her realizing it.

"You've been doing _what,_ now?" she growled, turning on the doctor. "If you wanted my blood for tests or the like, you should have just said so, and I would have been more then accomodating. But to take it from me without asking! You... you... you just cost your employer another fifty ryou, mister, whether you hire me or not!"

The doctor flinched. "Um, Ogata-sama ordered me to do the testing, so I--"

"Oh he _did, _did he?" Kireme snapped, not letting him finish. "Then maybe I need to _discuss_ that with him. Where the hell is he?"

After sending a helpless glance Kakashi's way, the medical ninja sighed. "I think I know where he went. I'll get him for you."

The door closed behind him, and Kireme glanced around the room, focusing her attention on Naruto and Sakura.

"It's safe to talk -- for a moment," Kakashi said. "What are you doing here, Kireme?"

She paused, then sighed and started talking. She was taking a big chance, since it was entirely possible this was someone in disguise as Kakashi, but she really needed to do something in order to get out the information she needed, and it didn't seem like she'd have a chance to reach any of the messengers if she discovered anything... which meant she would have to trust that he would carry the message for her. "Call me Ume -- that's my cover. Konohamaru mustered just about everyone in Blossom to come to the rescue. Shizune-san stopped him from taking them all, but there's a good-sized force of ninja surrounding this town preparing to attack. I sent them my report, and there may be some delay so that we can determine who it is Ogata-san is intending to meet with, but they'll be coming soon. I knew there were supposed to be thirteen ninja, one being a female and another a medical nin, but I didn't know about that... that... creepy Zetsu. Also, I didn't know about Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan's state. There was some discussion about me helping them to escape, but it seems that's not really possible."

"I think I know what's wrong with them," Kakashi sighed. "And they're not going to be waking up on their own. I hope that Shizune-san will be able to, however. But we don't need to worry about the meeting -- I know who it is, and the person is not who Ogata thinks. Ogata thinks he's going to be meeting with a member of the Raikage's security staff who he thinks has turned traitor. In reality, the Raikage himself is coming, together with some of his more trusted combat ninja. Butakatsu-san and I are going to strike on Ogata's forces from the inside while the Raikage attacks from outside, and hopefully we'll take care of them then. Konohamaru can start his attack whenever he wants, however, since it doesn't have to be the Raikage to launch the assault."

"I am probably not going to be able to send out any more messages like I hoped to," Kireme hurriedly explained. "If you could send a report to our people, however, that would probably be best. I was supposed to use Umiko-san's 'pets' to communicate, if you need a way to signal them."

"I can't send any messages, either," Kakashi sighed. "So we'll just have to wing it."

"Well, there might be one way I can get away," Kireme mused. "But I'll have to talk with Ogata first."

"Well, you'll get your chance, soon," Kakashi said, almost looking through the door. "He's on his way now."

The door opened, and the rather amused Ogata strode in. "I heard you had a complaint?"

"Oh, you better believe I've got a complaint, you bastard!" she snarled, turning from her normal pleasant self into a rather furious and aggrieved woman in a matter of seconds. "You think you could do this to me and expect to get away with it? You think I'm even going to work for you if you pay me ten times the amount we had negotiated, after this stunt? Oh, you've done it now, you freak!" She launched into a verbal assault on the Cloud ninja, berating him in detail for what was and was not permissible when it came to working with her. At first, he seemed amused, but as she got more and more vehement, he rapidly descended from amused into flustered, and then into downright panicky. He knew he had tricked her, but why had she taken it so badly? He didn't want her to report this to the brothel, but he wasn't entirely sure what he could do.

He knew it wasn't safe to kill this woman -- she had reported her existence and whereabouts to the local brothel, and one organization you did not want to get on the bad side of was the Brothel's Union. They had offices in almost every village in every nation on the known world, they had money, they had a great deal of influence in every military force -- both ninja villages that tended to operate anywhere in the world and more strictly controlled and regionally located samurai armies -- and in governments -- including every state which sponsored a ninja village -- and in merchant sectors. Killing a liscenced prostitute when it would be pretty obvious who did it was _never_ a good idea, even for a ninja -- if there was any organization on the planet with more power then those of the great ninja villages, it was the Brothel's Union.

Ogata also seemed a bit lost when it came to apologizing. She was talking so fast and furiously that he couldn't get a word in edgewise, and he didn't exactly have any way of making her stop. So, he just stood there, eyes widening, as he took the verbal assault that was coming. He thought she might run out of steam after five minutes, or possibly after ten, but that failed to be the case. About fifty-three minutes into her tirade, however, something happened which let him finally get free of the woman... but it wasn't exactly a pleasant reprieve.

"Ogata-sama!" came the cry as a young woman -- apparently the one female that Kireme had been asked to entertain, since she was wearing a forehead protector identifying her as a ninja -- burst into the room. "We're under attack."

His eyes widened. "Attack? Who the hell would attack us?"

"It looks like the two teams, no leaders," she said, gesturing to the beds where Naruto and Sakura were passed out. "They seem to match the descriptions we heard of their students."

Ogata snorted. "Genin, huh? Not worth my time -- deal with them, yourself."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You honestly think six genin can't take down one jounin? Didn't your spies in Cloud ever relay to you what Naruto-kun and his Academy class did as a genin?"

"A fluke," Ogata snorted. "Your average genin wouldn't stand a shot against a jounin, even six on one."

"Konoha requires that our genin be able to compete on an even field with an average jounin at three on one odds," Kakashi explained. "Or we send them back to become admin nin. Sand, which must make do with fewer ninja, tries to maintain an even higher standard of two to one to compensate for their lack of numbers. That's a more recent thing, brought about by the daimyo of Wind deciding to cut their budget, but they've done a pretty good job of maintaining it. If Cloud genin fail to make that standard, that could explain why you have such a glut of genin who fail their chuunin exams."

"So we need two jounin out there," Ogata said, shrugging. "Big deal."

"You'd want three to be safe, if those were genin out there," Kakashi pointed out. "But they aren't. They're the two top chuunin teams in Blossom, and I'd bet at least four, probably five of them could match most jounin straight up. The only reason the three from Naruto-kun's team aren't jounin, in fact, is that we haven't had any slots available for jounin-level ninja." Kireme frowned mentally, but kept any expression from altering her face -- the fact that she was still supposed to be angry probably helping that.

"Fine," Ogata growled. "We don't want your involvement known, so we'll be sending Akane and Butakatsu here to the clinic. Kinshou-san!"

"Yes, sir, Ogata-sama?" the female ninja chirped, snapping to attention.

"Guard this room. Don't let any of the attackers inside -- we may still have use for these two bodies we've captured, and we don't want anyone to know about Kakashi-san."

"Yes, sir, Ogata-sama, sir!"

Ogata stormed out of the room, and Kinshou moved to take her place outside the door. Once it closed, Kireme turned on Kakashi, glaring at him.

"You gave out a lot of information, there," she said challengingly. "At my brothel back home, we teach that people in my line of work tend to treat secrecy almost as important as ninja do, but after all you just told him I'm not sure if we don't care more for it then you do. That was a considerable bit of important information you gave out, there. I have to wonder -- if he'd asked you their exact strengths and weaknesses, would you have given them to him?"

Kakashi regarded her for a moment before sighing. "Yes, of course I would have. Maybe not all of them -- I'm not even sure I know all of them -- but I'd have given him enough to make him happy."

"Then--"

"Keep your voice down," he ordered, pointing to the door. "Look, we both know there are more people out there then just those six, and I wouldn't have given him any information I didn't already know that someone in his organization already had -- and yes, somewhere out there, Akane submitted a report detailing the strengths and weaknesses of every ninja in Blossom. Including you, by the way. I did it so that he would actually go out and expose himself to combat, where our forces outside can get to him... not to help him. When you possess secret information, there comes a time to use it."

"I don't know if this is one of those times," she said uncertainly. "And as far as reports on me go... why? I'm not a ninja!"

"You aren't?" Kakashi replied, clearly amused. "Hm. Funny thing, but you are actually listed on the payroll at Blossom as a 'instructor -- Ninja Academy -- Advanced Techniques.' You pretty much have to be at least the minimum of what is considered a ninja to be on that payroll. Tell me, _Ume_-chan... what are the basics behind what makes a ninja qualify as a ninja?"

"I qualify as an auxilliary," she replied a little more assuredly. "As someone with special skills required for the ninja to perform their duties, I am valuable to other ninja. Therefore, I have been given certain ninja skills to keep me safe, but I am not a ninja."

"Indeed," Kakashi agreed. "Right from the book. And the difference between an auxilliary and, say, a reservist -- who is usually either a ninja so far past his or her prime that they are no longer qualified for full-time active service or a failed genin who is not qualified to be an administrative ninja -- is that auxilliaries are never supposed to go out from behind the lines -- you are the cooks who cook our meals, the barbers who cut our hair, our entertainers, sometimes our transportation, sometimes the builders who upgrade fortifications to more permanent developments, and so on. But they never do any true ninja duties -- like, say, breaking into an enemy base in order to gain intelligence. That would be a job for a reservist, or possibly even an active duty ninja."

Kireme hesitated. "There is another difference, though. A real ninja is supposed to be able to fight other ninja..."

"Not much escapes my eyes these days," Kakashi snorted. "Whatever it may seem like. And I've seen you practicing with a kunai, working until you could almost qualify as a shuriken master at genin level. You wouldn't be employed as an active genin in either Sand or Konoha, where the standards are higher then just about anywhere else, but you probably would in most ninja villages. As I said... you are a ninja. And so, you have been reported on as if you were a ninja. You may have been trying to keep those training sessions a secret, but Akane _is_ a good ninja in his own right, and could possibly even spy on more experienced ninja."

"Like, say, you?" a voice said as Akane emerged from a shadowy corner. "Seems I can even get past the sharingan eye."

"No, not really," Kakashi shot back. "I knew you were there. I also know you're irrelevent."

"Wha--"

Akane wasn't able to finish his word before he keeled over, dead. Butakatsu stepped out of the shadows as well, bending over to retrieve a bloody kunai from the dead genin's back. "He didn't let out an alarm to the others, sir," the live genin said, wiping the blood off on Akane's clothes. He shook his head. "Arrogant ass never did learn when to call for help."

"Shit," Kireme cursed, eyes wide as she stared down at the body.

Kakashi nodded to the live genin. "Kinshou?"

"Unconscious, not dead," Butakatsu replied. "She's a decent girl loyal to Ogata only because he's got blackmail on her, so I figure she won't be too upset to learn we're stopping him here."

"Fair enough," Kakashi agreed. "Now, let's go. It seems that our call to action is coming sooner then we expected. Kireme-chan, are you okay?"

"Kireme?" Butakatsu exclaimed, taking a good look at the girl. "No, that's not a henge. How the hell--"

"You learn a few things in a brothel," Kireme replied. She was a bit unnerved at the body now pooling blood at her feet -- after all, Akane was a former customer of hers, at one time -- but having lived in a ninja village for several years now she was used to the occasional death -- at least, as much as anyone could get used to it -- and she'd seen a few dead bodies in her time. Plus, pretending to be unphased by just about anything shocking that anyone wanted or did was a large part of her job. "Remind me to tell you about the time someone wanted me to pose underwater as a famous actress who drowned in her bathtub some time. There are certain things you just have to know -- it's a lot more complicated then just having sex all the time. Something I try to get across in my 'courtesan-training' sessions with your kunoichi that I gather isn't taught in Konoha."

"I'll mention the omission to the hokage next change I get," Kakashi sighed. "Now, since all of the obstacles are out of our way... should we go see to my end of the plan?"

* * *

"Katon -- Housenka no jutsu!"

Ogata barely recognized the call in time to jump back as a dozen small balls of fire landed at the door as he stepped through. Kunai embedded in the flames, still red-hot from the intensity of the fireballs, stuck in the ground where he had been a split second before. His eyes widened, and he decided that perhaps Kakashi had been right to admonish him after all. He had followed the Konoha jounin's advice, and collected just about everyone except for Kinshou to meet the threat. Well, everyone from his organization -- people like Kakashi, Akane, Butakatsu, and the prostitute he knew as Ume were being kept out of the fight. So was Zetsu, and a few other 'ambassadors' from various groups he had been negotiating with to help consolidate his power. He had the strength, now, to launch the final assault -- even without the Akatsuki's help -- and so he had been making arrangements for his taking power to be seen as 'legitimate' in the crisis which was sure to follow the Raikage's demise at the hands of one of his own guardsmen. The planned meeting with said guardsman was supposed to be the last step in his plan... but this attack was not expected. With himself and the eight other Cloud jounin he had assembled, however (Kinshou, Kakashi, Akane, and Butakatsu being unable to fight in this battle), he should be able to defeat this attack fairly easily. It helped that the building was fortified well enough that there really was only one entrance from which any attack was possible, even for most ninja, but unfortunately the expected meeting took away most of that advantage. He couldn't afford to just defend the building until it was most convenient for him -- he had to clear away the attackers before his guest arrived.

"Alright, men," he snapped. "It looks like they're serious, but we don't have time to waste on children. Counter-attack, now."

The nine Cloud ninja practically flew out the door, intending to use their numbers and the quickness granted by their power and experience to overwhelm what was likely the more natural speed of the fewer, younger, and likely weaker Blossom ninja. It didn't quite work out that way, however. The leader of the Blossom ninja -- the one who, if the quickly read reports Ogata had seen were correct, was named Inari -- pulled out a bowl of steaming hot ramen, of all things. This was incongruous enough with a scene of battle it gave Ogata pause for a moment, and that moment lead to disaster. Threads of ramen noodles darted out at him -- longer strands then should be accounted for in a normal bowl of ramen -- but a quick attempt to dispell any genjutsu proved it was not an illusion. Instead, somehow, the noodles were actually stretching themselves around him and his men, forming a cage.

"It's just ramen!" one of his men cried. "Shouldn't be too hard to break!" With that, the hapless jounin slammed head-first into the noodle cage... knocking himself out in the process, as it seemed the noodles had acquired unheard of strength. They suddenly weren't red hot and steaming, any more, but instead were once again dried and fried. A whirlwind of shuriken started slipping through the bars, forcing everyone to dodge away. Ogata, himself, leapt into the rear wall of the ramen cage, expecting to bounce off of it. When he crashed through unexpectedly, shattering the dry noodles as if they were, well, noodles, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Several of his men followed suit, and then the Blossom ninja pounced.

A large, furry animal -- a mole, most likely, if the reports were right -- rose out of the ground, a rider on its back, to pull one of his men down underground with it. A series of fireballs sent from a sickly-looking boy pelted two others. Yet another was engaged in furious hand-to-hand combat with someone employing a style similar to the one rumored to belong exclusively to the Hyuuga clan on Konoha -- obviously, that was Adaha. A flock of eagles dove in and picked up yet another. A sixth -- by her distinctive proportions and by the process of elimination, obviously the Munamoto Sousou girl who had been on Haruno Sakura's team that Akane's reports had no data on other then her identity -- was effectively using the shadows to hide from view, emerge to strike a passing Cloud ninja, and then descend back into hiding.

"All right, that's _enough!_" Ogata cried. Flexing his chakra powerfully, he sent out a varient on several wind element techniques, knocking back friend and enemy alike with a powerful gust of tornado-force winds flying out of his body. He pulled the conscious members of his own organization to their feet and reorganized them as Inari and his five friends tried to pick themselves up. "This ends now."

"Not yet," Inari replied after staring at him for a moment... and then fled, taking his entire team with him.

Ogata gaped after him. _They... they were winning. Why did they run? _Finally, he collected himself -- at least, to some extent -- and easily decided on a course of action. "What are you fools waiting around for? After them!"

* * *

Kakashi lead Butakatsu and Kireme through the hallways, the later two carrying Naruto and Sakura, respectively. They were almost to the door when a horrible cackling emerged from the shadows around them.

"Hm, how interesting," came the crazed voice attached to the laughter. "I found a truly _delicious_ corpse not too long ago, but I had to wonder who left it out for me. So, I followed the trail, and what do I find? Why, our 'entertainment' in the company of our 'honorable' contacts from Konoha. This is a surprise."

"Zetsu," Kakashi replied calmly. "This is not what it looks like. We were attacked, and after Akane fell we ran. We still don't know what happened to Kinshou-san."

"Of course you did," the voice replied patronizingly, then hardened as Zetsu emerged from the shadows. "We both know that isn't true, and you wouldn't believe me if I pretended it was. Even if it was, though, it wouldn't matter -- I have all the evidence I need to prove you were betraying Ogata... and if I manage to stop you, well, then perhaps I will have 'proved myself' as I was asked to do. It's your tough luck, Kakashi-san."

"Then I suppose there's no way of talking you out of this pointless fight?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"And just how is this fight pointless?" Zetsu crowed. "By killing you, I'll have a feast... and my employer will have reason to treat me right!"

"Assuming, of course, your employer lives through his own fight," Kakashi pointed out. "Which might not happen."

"Well, at least I've have sated my hunger for the moment," Zetsu shot back. "Now... do me a favor and die!"

Kireme had a hard time keeping up with the battle that followed. Kakashi was employing his sharingan eye, but that only allowed him to maintain a solid defense. His offense was fairly sporatic, on the other hand, consisting largely of quick elemental techniques, basic taijutsu attacks, and other things which could be done fairly quickly. Zetsu was pressing him hard, employing all kinds of rather disturbing tactics of his own -- spitting acid, pulling out shuriken made from the bones of the dead he had eaten, digging his limbs into the ground to grow them as plant-like entangling vines, and various other moves which she had never seen before. It was while attempting the last of those that Kakashi finally managed a small break -- thanks to Butakatsu having summoned a warthog which charged in and crashed into the temporarily immobile Akatsuki ninja.

Kakashi tried summoning his pack of dogs to aid Butakatsu's pig and press the attack while he disentangled himself from the vines. However, his slight advantage was ended quickly enough, as Zetsu summoned a large bear that sent them all back where they came from in puffs of ninja smoke with a single swipe of its claws. Butakatsu's warthog was next, not managing the escape of a disspelled summon before the bear speared it on its claws. There was a chance the pig would still live after a recovery period, despite those wounds, but that chance soon went by the wayside as the bear picked it up and swallowed it whole.

All of that happened in less then a minute, and Kireme was too stunned to do anything. What could she do, after all? She wasn't even really a ninja, despite what Kakashi said. She had the simple tricks, yes, but that was it... well, beyond some shuriken training. And she didn't have any shuriken with her, either, so that was a wash. She set Sakura down, as Butakatsu had done with Naruto shortly before summoning his warthog, but knew that if she turned out to be their last line of defense, there wasn't much she could do against someone of Zetsu's level. The thought of ditching them all and running was looking pretty good about then.

Kakashi managed to dispell the bear with a well-placed chidori -- about the only technique he had which would pierce the creatures armored hide -- but a vine to the back of the head knocked him flat. He was obviously stunned, momentarily, and so Butakatsu moved to protect him until he could recover. Zetsu snorted, preparing to swat the young ninja away like a gnat and end the life of Kakashi the Copy Ninja, and take his place as a legend in the making.

Kireme knew why she wasn't running. She knew that what Kakashi had said was true. She may be a prostitute first and foremost, and was actually proud to be one, but she had truly become a ninja as well. After having lived among them, worked with them, taught them, and learned from them for almost four years, she knew -- probably better then most genin on their first real mission, which was what she supposed her circumstance was in that case -- just what it meant to be a ninja. And that included not leaving anyone behind, seeing the mission through until the end even if it meant your own death, and... never giving up, no matter what the odds. With that in mind, she pulled a kunai out of Sakura's equipment pouch, and with all the effort that four years of training had won her, threw it as hard as she could.

In truth, it was little more than a gesture on her part to show that she was not going to run, regardless of her inexperience and relative lack of skills and training. After all, it was just a shuriken. Shuriken might be effective when it came to battling most civilians and some types of lower-ranked samurai, especially in long-range assassination-type missions, but they were practically useless when it came to fights between ninja (though not completely useless -- with traps and special techniques, weapons like kunai and other shuriken could be effective against even the strongest of ninja). If anything, she hoped it would distract Zetsu long enough for Kakashi to recover. Which was why it was such a shock -- not only to her, but to everyone else who could witness it, that her kunai sunk deep into the back of Zetsu.

Zetsu blinked once, and oddly the skin which seemed to be painted black and white faded into the pale flesh tones of a normal human, although the rest of his features remained plant-like. "But... but I was sure you were really just a simple whore."

"I am," Kireme replied, watching the first man she ever killed die in front of her. "But I am also a ninja."

* * *

Ogata knew he was being lead into some sort of trap, but he continued on anyway. He really didn't have a choice -- these kids had to be eliminated before his guest arrived, and it didn't seem like he'd have much of a chance to do that unless he followed them. He wasn't too concerned, however -- after all, what kind of trap could these kids manage? He was qualified to be a kage with the number and power of his techniques and he had thirty years of experience as a ninja, plus his men were all elite jounin with at least a decades experience themselves. Their techniques were impressive, and he could see how they might manage to pass the chuunin exam at such young ages, but they were still relatively inexperienced -- they couldn't have been ninja for more then three or four years, at most. In fact, their best chance to win came not from trying to lead them into a trap, but in facing them head-on and relying on their techniques, and they should know that. Unless... unless there were more of them then these six.

"Crap. Pull back!"

Inari turned and grinned. "Too late," he said.

Hands grasped Ogata at his ankles, and he felt himself being pulled down into the ground. He knew the counter to this particular technique involved a lot of water, and he fortunately was very skilled with water element techniques. He was able to pull the water out of the air in order to flood the ground where they were trying to drag him, but several of his followers could not. Konohamaru, Ino, Hana, Futaba, the three ANBU, and Hanabi lead several teams of genin into the fight. The numbers were overwhelming, and Ogata found himself driven away from the others by Inari's original assault force. He kept them in front of him, backing away, hoping to eventually outflank them or to find the time to escape. The battle was lost, but he still had enough power in Cloud to continue his plans... as long as he survived the battle.

The meaty thump of backing into someone else -- someone fairly large and solid, by the feel of it -- told him that he might not make it. He jumped to his right, spinning to take in his latest attacker... and gaped.

"Rrr...raikage-sama?" he said hesitantly. The fighting stopped entirely in that moment, as all of the Cloud ninja turned to see who Ogata had run into.

Kanraku Oyadama, the Raikage of the Cloud, bowed mockingly. "Ogata-san. I have come to meet you... as we discussed last week."

Ogata's eyes narrowed. "You weren't who I said I wanted to meet this week."

"Actually, I am," Oyadama replied. "I am the 'honor guard member' who believed he could assassinate the Raikage for you. And I can -- I do know quite a few techniques which would kill me to use. I've considered long and hard using them on you, Ogata."

"I--"

"Once upon a time, Ogata, you were my favorite to become my successor. In truth, there was a time I considered actually allowing your little coup to succeed -- I've been Raikage almost fifty years, now, and I'm tired of it. But the poor way you lead your people, the bad alliances you forged, your failure to discover traitors in your midst, your odd desire to include this country of Wave as part of your plan despite its friendly neutrality with us, and finally the way you have created powerful enemies where there was no need to do so by attacking two of these Blossom ninja's most popular leaders, in order to gain the alliance of a force comprising entirely of the most viscious traitors in all of history." Oyadama sighed. "I have made many of those same errors. Konoha is our enemy because of my stupidity in giving in to the faction run by Sinobi Gashir a little over a decade ago -- just as your decision to ally with the Akatsuki was. Blossom is now your enemy because of that."

"Gashir was a nutcase. A powerful ninja, yes, but not powerful enough to risk Cloud over," Ogata growled. "Akatsuki, however, is the most powerful force in history."

"A force which has been systematically destroyed by a single man," another person said. Ogata turned to see Kakashi's arrival. "Akatsuki was, indeed, a powerful force... but it was also an unreliable one. And one which may have just recieved its deathblow -- Zetsu is dead. In the process of attacking Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan, Itachi was crippled and so was the instrument of power they were constructing. And you... are the only person still alive who could be considered their ally. And, by the way, Butakatsu-san and I are the 'traitors in your midst' you failed to discover."

"He won't be alive for much longer, I fear," Oyadama sighed. "Ogata-san... I'm giving you a choice. Try not to make another mistake, because whatever your decision is, it will be the last one you ever make."

Ogata frowned. "A choice? What sort of choice?"

"You have two options," Kakashi said. "Unless something has changed?"

"No," Oyadama replied. "I won't offer him the position of Raikage, after all of this, even if he _had_ tried to make some sort of convincing argument and I felt moved by it. I won't even allow him to make one, now, for there is no way. To have miscalculated the loyalty of these Blossom ninja to this Naruto-kun so badly is too much to forgive, no matter what he says."

Kakashi nodded. "Ogata, you should know that your life is forfiet. However, the manner of your death can be of your own choosing. The Raikage is willing to forgive many of the men you lead in your revolt... but only those who chose to betray him out of loyalty to you, and not those whose decision came out of disloyalty to the Raikage. We know, already, who all of your men are... but what we don't know is their reasons for their betrayal. You, however, do... so, if you are willing to give us that information, we are willing to allow you a painless death by poison."

"And my other choice?" Ogata asked.

"You can choose to continue fighting until you die," Oyadama answered. "Which would mean that I would be unable to determine which of your men it was safe to pardon, and therefore... I would have to kill them all."

Ogata's mouth opened and closed several times as his options became clear. He looked over to where his remaining followers were, surrounded and disabled. He looked over at Kakashi, who he knew was his equal in ability, and then to the Raikage, who potentially could be even more powerful. There was obviously no way of getting out of this one. He had no allies left who could fight, and not enough strength to escape. It was over.

"Very well," he sighed. "If all that I have left is the ability to save those who were loyal to me, then I suppose that is what I shall do."

* * *

The ninja of Blossom could not wait long enough to ensure that Ogata kept his end of the bargain, as they had greater concerns, but the Raikage assured them he could handle it himself once a few preparations were made. The trio of ANBU and a few of the genin remained behind to help, but most of the forces Konohamaru had mustered returned to the village, carrying Naruto and Sakura with them. Kakashi, his plots now fully revealed and the need for cover now ended, joined them with all forgiven, and allowed his worry to show the entire trip. He had taken a good, long look at the pair with his sharingan eye, and had consulted with the Cloud medical ninja who had accompanied Ogata on his mission. The prognosis was... not good, to say the least. They lived and appeared healthy, but they seemed... trapped inside their own minds. It was like his own exposure to the mangekyou, but worse... and he wasn't sure if it would be repairable damage. He held his tongue, however, because he was unsure how the ninja of Blossom would react to his untrained diagnosis.

They were greeted at the gates, however, by a weary-looking Jiraiya, who revealed that the problem was greater then they feared. "You got them?" he said by way of greeting.

"Yes," Konohamaru said, taking the lead once again. "They're unconscious, but they're whole. Shizune-san will need to take a look at them to see what's wrong."

Jiraiya hesitated. "Shizune-san is... busy, at the moment, Konohamaru-kun. With your wife."

His eyes widened. "M-moegi-chan? What's wrong with her?"

"We don't know. Sometime shortly after you left, her health started failing her," Jiraiya explained. "She seems to have stabilized for the moment, but... she is crippled, and her own blood seems to be betraying her."

"Her blood," Kakashi nodded slowly. "That makes sense, then. Itachi's attack wasn't against Naruto and Sakura, but the kyuubi."

"Shizune doesn't know what to do," Jiraiya explained. "She was hoping Sakura-chan could help, since she has managed to become a better medical ninja than any save Tsunade-sama... but if Sakura-chan is affected as well, we may have a problem."

"Then we have one final thing to try," Kakashi said. "Prepare Moegi-chan for travel, and let's send a message ahead of us. Naruto and Sakura are returning to Konoha, it seems."

Konohamaru grimmaced. "Not alone."

Inari nodded to him, as did most of the others accompanying him. "No, not alone."

* * *

Itachi sighed. "How long will this take, again?"

"Your ribs will heal without additional treatment -- they are cracked, but if you don't stress them they will heal naturally," the doctor treating him said. The doctor didn't know who he was, but did know that he had been hurt in a battle with other ninja. That was all he needed to know, after all. "Your arm, on the other hand, is beyond my abilities. I've done what I can, and what I have done will allow you to take your time in getting it treated, but you will need a very highly skilled medical ninja to restore it to functionality."

"It's a shame you won't have that time," another voice called from the door. Itachi and the doctor looked over to see the intruder.

"Brother?" Itachi said, frowning. "What have you done to yourself, brother?"

"What I had to in order to gain the power to destroy you," Sasuke growled. "Although it seems you have let someone do quite a bit of damage to you."

"Your two ex-teammates, Naruto and Sakura, fought me a few days ago," Itachi explained. "I suppose you could say it ended in a draw. They crippled me, and I crippled them."

"It's a shame. I wanted to test my skills against you," Sasuke replied. Then, without any further warning, drove a chidori straight into Itachi's heart. "But I'll settle for your death."

"What--" the doctor cried as he watched the life go out of Itachi's eyes.

"That was easier then I thought." Sasuke said, grinning darkly at the man. "This was... family business, of no concern to you. I'll be going now."

"But... but..."

"And I'll be taking that body with me, as well," he said, picking up the lifeless form of his brother. "I wouldn't want my family's eyes to fall into the... _wrong hands_."

"Uh... sure," the doctor replied, raising his hands defensively. "Whatever you want."

Uzuki Yuugao met Sasuke at the doorway, seeing the body he carried. "It's done, then?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied. "And now that my mission is over, it is time you give me what we agreed upon when I killed that Sand ninja -- Baki -- for you."

Yuugao grimaced but nodded. "If you desire."

"You weren't exactly my first choice," Sasuke admitted. "You're nine years older then I am, which means you have fewer child-bearing years in you. But beggers cannot be choosers -- the Uchiha clan will rise again, and you shall be its new mother."

"Not exactly what I wanted with my life," she replied. "But when my lover died, there wasn't exactly anything left to build my life around. So, perhaps it this is a goal I can have with my life, now."

"Then let us go, and find a place to do this," Sasuke said. "I only have a short time left before Orochimaru-samal wants me to return. I mean to ensure my clan survives through you, first."

* * *

Notes: Names again. According to my Japanese English dictionary, Ume can mean plum, as I put it here. Kinshou-san means 'insignificant' (as her role is, indeed, insignificant, but I found not giving her a name was unavoidable. Maybe I'll use her again, maybe I won't, but if I do it won't be until the sequel). The final new name I introduced, Kanraku Oyadama, translates to 'Cheese Head' or 'Head Cheese,' depending on how you read it. I figure that's appropriate enough... and I'm having problems coming up with names, so hopefully there won't be many more I need to come up with. I'm a bit worried, since I seem to remember having used that name before, but I can't seem to find any notes on who it was or where I used it, so I either used it on such a small character I didn't see any need to write it down, or I didn't use it. (Or I lost that sheet of notes, which is entirely possible but a bit less likely in this case). If anyone else finds an instance where I've reused it, please let me know. I definitely don't want to duplicate names except where necessary (such as with the two Sakuras), and so that is one fix I am certainly willing to make.

Sometimes, a villain dies before his chance at redemption, even if he seems to have the character for it as in Ogata's case. RIP, Okanemoto Akane. We barely knew you. RIP, Zetsu. You're too creepy to let live, and the whole corpse-eating thing is something I'd rather avoid in the future, so I could only let you eat the one before I killed you (heh). Incidentally, Zetsu is (in my notes) an ex-Grass GHuND agent (ANBU equivalent, if you're just joining us), which is where his bear summon comes from -- I figured that was why he, or his clan either one, developed the ability to eat corpses, as their mission was in part to dispose of the bodies of dead ninja so that they couldn't be dissected. RIP, Ogata. Ogata, by the way, was initially supposed to be a 'just like Naruto' character, in that he wanted to become Raikage since he first knew what the Raikage was. However, somewhere along the line he took a wrong turn and went too far in trying to achieve that goal, dooming himself in the process. I wanted to have him and Naruto confront each other, and have a whole scene between the two of them about each others desire to be kage. However, I killed that idea a long time ago -- back shortly after introducing Ogata's character -- because the volume was already getting way too long, Ogata would take too much time to develop, and I would have had to sacrifice a number of other elements I wanted to include (like the NaruSaku vs Itachi battle and Kireme trying out the plan she described to Ino back during the chuunin exam). So, there really is a lot more to his character, and I'm a bit sorry I had to kill him off before I could write it all up, but I think it worked out pretty well as is... even if it makes Kakashi's role as a double agent a bit harder to deal with. And it helped me to end the volume much faster, which means I'll FINALLY be able to get around to answering questions like "What about the Anko storyline?" "What about the Hyuuga civil war?" "What about Lee's problems?" and so forth, which have been coming up a lot recently. RIP, Itachi -- you reap what you sow when you turn your little brother into a monster.

I seem to be making quite a 'world' of the society of prostitution, here. Honestly, I know nothing about it in real life (save a little historical information, such as the social structure and expectations of the prostitutes of ancient Greece, who were regarded with more respect and political power then the usual Greek man's own wife and family), but I decided I would extrapolate how I thought it MIGHT work in a world such as the one in Naruto, where (from all indications as seen with Jiraiya's few interactions on the road), little stygmatism seems to be placed on being a prostitute... and there don't appear to be any concerns about the health of either the girls or the client (in canon, Jiraiya). Then, I went on and extrapolated 'what are the kinds of things a brothel worker might need to survive in the business,' and started building what Kireme could do from that. Then I added in the few basic ninja techniques I mentioned she was learning way back during the pre-chuunin exam tournament, and came out with her skill set. This is probably the last time I will visit this 'world of prostitution' in this fic -- at least, until the sequel (and there's nothing really planned in the sequel, although there's plenty of space for it) -- so, if you're into that kind of thing (heh), enjoy it while it's here.

What was really going on with Jiraiya was supposed to be revealed in this chapter, but in the end there wasn't a good point for it. So, I suppose it'll come out in a future chapter -- there are other opportunities to reveal it coming up shortly.

Next Chapter: We return to Konoha, where things have been on the verge of mortal combat for some time. What will the return of Naruto and Sakura -- and Hanabi -- do to the delicate balance that has been keeping the peace? And is Tsunade really able to help them, after all?


	61. Vol 4 Chapter 1

Volume 4

* * *

Chapter 1

"I hope you understand why I'm sending you on this mission, Neji-san," Tsunade said, addressing the young jounin. "Gai-san is in charge, of course, but you, Lee-kun, and Tenten-kun's three teams will all have an element of independent command the likes of which you never have had. Gai-san is probably the only man in Konoha who could match Kakashi in terms of experience and skill, so he will be taking his place during this interim period, but he is... not exactly of the appropriate mentallity for a true leadership role. You will be taking up Naruto-kun's role as the true power behind the 'throne,' if you will, and I believe you are one of only a handful of jounin who could accept that sort of responsibility, but that is not why I'm sending you to Blossom. I anticipate being able to restore Naruto-kun fairly quickly -- after all, I've treated others afflicted with the side-effects of the mangekyou technique, before, and I have a pretty good idea what I'll be doing -- but I was planning to recall him from Blossom soon, anyway, so I'll probably just keep him here. However, that is not the entire reason I am sending you."

"Then why, Hokage-sama?" Neji asked, although he was fairly sure he already knew the answer. He suspected that she wanted to say it, anyway.

"Because Hanabi-san is returning with Naruto," she said. "A lot of Blossom is accompanying the three wounded, in fact. In addition to Hanabi-san, Kakashi, Anko, Hana, Ino, Konohamaru, Futaba, Jiraiya, and several others who I am not familiar with -- Blossom locals, apparently -- will be arriving soon. You may also find your Academy dean leaving shortly after your arrival -- as I understand it, Haruno-san is only staying behind to pack up her daughter's and Naruto-kun's things before she joins them here in Konoha. If she does, I'll have to send someone new to take over the Academy there -- Iruka-san, if he's willing, since he has the most experience in teaching -- but there may be need to appoint a temporary instructor in her place. I'd suggest Tenten-san."

Neji nodded. "I will keep that in mind, hokage-sama, but before you go any further I think I may have to make one brief protest."

Tsunade nodded. "Go on."

"I understand you want at least one member of the Hyuuga clan outside of the village at all times, in order to preserve the clan should our... internal troubles wind up in our self-destruction. But I am a branch family member, and cannot pass down the byakugan. Sending me is pointless." He paused. "I would recommend Hinata-chan in my place, with Kiba-kun in Lee-san's place as well."

"Removing them from Konoha does have a certain appealing quality, I must admit," Tsunade agreed. "But we've been able to prevent actual, physical combat for several years by balancing things on the edge of the figurative knife-point. I'm concerned her disappearance could lead to open hostilities breaking out, and so sending her is too dangerous. Even sending any of the main branch Hyuuga in any of the three factions out on missions, at this point, could disrupt the balance of power considerably. In fact, I'm very worried what Hanabi-san's return will mean, since her apparent neutrality has always been something of a wild-card in this whole conflict, and one which no-one has attempted to play only because she wasn't here. But that cannot be helped -- she is returning, whether I like it or not, and so I have to take whatever action I can. However, while you may be the most powerful of Hinata-san's warriors, your removal is not as likely to spark violence as most others I could think of to send out at this time. As far as you being branch family and unable to pass down those traits is concerned, however..."

"Yes?" Neji prompted, suddenly quite curious.

Slowly, Tsunade reached inside her desk and pulled out a vial of a purplish liquid. "This is... a bit of an experiment, and I strongly suggest you _not_ use it unless your clan is utterly destroyed. However, I believe it is capable of restoring your ability to pass on the _original_ Hyuuga traits. Perhaps not the enhanced byakugan, but at least some form of it. There is enough of this medicine for all of one use, and you must... ahem, must get whatever girl you use it with pregnant within seventy-two hours of ingesting it -- which means you should probably consult with Shizune-san on what medical ninjitsu might be required to ensure pregnancy before trying it -- and hope it works." She paused. "I must admit, I've been working on this problem for some time as a means of ending this... conflict your clan is involved in, but even _my_ best medical ninjitsu wasn't able to accomplish all that I hoped with it, and I've been working on this formula for almost six years, now."

Neji frowned. "Did you say _six_ years?" That would be before Hinata ran out on her arranged marriage, if so.

"I'd been expecting something to happen inside the Hyuuga clan since I was old enough to understand what the conflict was really about," Tsunade replied, shaking her head. "I wasn't sure if it would happen in my lifetime, but since it has, and since I'm responsible for solving this crisis as the hokage, I started looking for solutions a long time ago. This was one attempt which failed... although not completely. It does restore some of what the seal has made you lose, after all."

Neji looked at the potion in his hand. "I see. Or perhaps I don't -- why have you not revealed the existence of this formula earlier?"

"Well, for one thing, it doesn't really work as I wanted it to, yet," Tsunade pointed out. "For another, your uncle insisted I keep silent on it until I discovered if this would be successful or not. He felt--"

"My uncle?" Neji repeated, not sure he had heard that right. "You mean Hyuuga Hiashi, my biological uncle and the leader of one of my clan faction's rivals, or... someone else?"

"I meant Hiashi," Tsunade shot back. "I needed _someone_ who could explain the exact elements of your seal to me, and he was the person with the best chance of knowing exactly what was needed... and the most motivation for giving up that secret. He wished for the ability to remove the seal on_ you,_ after all, even if he didn't know how. When Hinata took a stand and your clan divided itself into its current state of three factions, he asked me to step up the project in the hopes of offering it to your side as part of a compromise position. I agreed, provided he took what steps he could to prevent open warfare from breaking out in Konoha's streets. So far, he has kept good on his word... and I have come this far in determining a solution."

"And did 'Uncle' Hiashi authorize the release of this potion to me for this mission?" Neji asked, his fist clenching around the vial.

"Yes, but I had to twist his arm for him to agree to it," she admitted. "He didn't want anyone else to know about it until I'd perfected the formula."

Neji wasn't quite sure what to think. This seemed like a possible bribe from Hiashi, but he wasn't so sure he shouldn't take it anyway -- it could prove invaluable, after all, and there was something to be said for having a method of restoring the clan should it be destroyed in Konoha. Furthermore, it sounded as if Hiashi hadn't wanted to bribe him with it in this particular case, whether it was intended as one in the future or not. Finally... there was the niggling feeling that had been plaguing him for quite some time, that Hiashi was about the only member of the main branch of the family (well, outside of Hinata) who had ever given him a fair shake, and that his faction seemed to be fairly... sensible, in its views. Neji believed that, if the clan matriarch and her faction were removed from the picture, a deal could be struck with Hiashi that he -- and possibly Hinata and the rest of thier faction -- could agree to. There was one thing that bothered him, though -- by releasing this formula to Neji, Hiashi was tacitly acknowledging that there was a good chance their clan could be wiped out. Which meant he was prepared to fight and die to defend his position... something neither he nor Hinata (nor, Neji suspected, the Matriarch) were certain about.

"Fine," he finally said. "I'll take the potion with me, but only use it upon the confirmed death of the rest of my clan. I do have a question, however."

"Yes?"

"You've prepared an unfinished formula knowing it wouldn't work. That must have taken time out of trying to perfect the final potion, as well... so I have to wonder if you, perhaps, have given up on this plan?"

Tsunade grinned darkly. "I think I'm choosing you well to be the 'power behind the throne' in Blossom. While I haven't entirely given up on the potion, I am forced to find a faster solution to your clan's problems then I believe it will take for me to perfect the formula. I have a new plan in mind -- not as likely to succeed, but more likely to resolve things in a timely manner. I'm afraid I can't tell you what it is, though... but I want you gone before the people from Blossom get here. You and this vial are our insurance policy, and it's only good for me if you're relatively safe."

Neji hesitated. "There is another -- entirely unrelated -- matter you need to be made aware of."

"Oh?" Tsunade said, looking purplexed. "What is that?"

"It's about... Lee. He has... lost a bit of his edge, lately."

"Probably a good thing," she snorted. "He's always seemed a bit too driven, to me."

"That's just it. He hasn't lost any of his drive, exactly, but his drive has changed... methodology." Neji hesitated. "I wouldn't be mentioning any of this, except I am afraid he's going to endanger himself some day, but... he has quit using the lotus techniques entirely. Not a bad thing, perhaps, considering how self-destructive they are, but he's replaced them with, um, drunken boxing. And he's becoming a bit of a lush."

The hokage raised her eyebrows at that one. "A lush? Is it affecting his command ability?"

"Not so far," Neji admitted. "In fact, on missions he's always quite careful to never use those techniques until the last moment. However, he's been needing more and more sake in order to enter that 'state,' lately, and... I don't know what's really going on with him, but I'm concerned about him."

"Does Gai-san know about this?" she asked.

"Yes, and he's even more concerned. However... you know how he is. He's attributing it to so many different things -- from the 'exhuberance of a youth-at-heart entering adulthood' to training to... well, I'm not quite sure what he'll pull out of his hat as an excuse. He's become an enabler, however, and he's encouraged Tenten-kun to be the same. She's going along with it, so I'm not quite sure what to do."

"If Gai knows about it, he'll handle it. He's done it before, on the rare occasion," Tsunade finally said, grinning slightly. "I'm glad to see that you really do care about your teammates. Many of your clan... forget the importance of teamwork."

"Hanabi is one of those, I fear," Neji sighed. "I'm worried about what side she'll take."

"I'm not," Tsunade replied. "Naruto got to her. And, um, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but... she's been involved in a relationship much like Hinata-san's... only, um, wierder."

Neji didn't believe it. "I can understand Naruto-kun managing something with her," he said. "He got through to me. But... wierder?"

"I'm going to be giving you a complete record of the reports on Blossom. Her relationship was actually a component of the recent mission on which Naruto-kun got injured. You might want to read that file."

Neji nodded. "I'll do that, first thing, once I get to Blossom."

"Good. Now, Gai-san and the rest of the 'relief expedition' should be assembling at the main gate by now. Go -- Blossom's 'medical emergency expedition,' as they're calling it, should be here this afternoon. I want you gone before then, and well out of the village."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Neji agreed, and disappeared in a flash.

Tsunade sat back once he was gone, pulling out one of the files on her desk. "Lee's becoming a 'lush,' huh? Hm..."

* * *

The contingent from Blossom arrived a bit later then expected, and its arrival was a sight the likes of which few, if any, had ever seen in Konoha. It was after dark, and the procession was lit from before and behind with eerie torchlight flickering around them all. Four people each carried the two stretchers, and another person pushed a wheel-chair bound young woman carrying a baby behind them. Inari, Adaha, Umiko, and Hanabi carried the burden of Naruto, while Shiro, Chikan, Munamoto Sousou, and Ino carried Sakura. Hana lead the procession from the front, five dogs (her three, Gonta, and Kuromaru directly behind her in a marching line), with Futaba at her side, the both of them carrying torches to light the way. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Anko took the rear, following Konohamaru, who was pushing Moegi along in a wheelchair as he went, all of them also carrying torches. The march was solemn and silent, save for the clapping of feet marching along the ground (an unusual sound in and of itself, as most ninja of Konoha learned to disguise their footsteps first and foremost in their schooldays), and the people of Konoha felt obliged to straighten up and respect this strange formation despite most of them not knowing why it was happening. Word of Naruto's return had spread in a few small circles, true, but that he would be accorded such treatment even by the people of Blossom had never entered most people's minds, and many had a hard time believing that this was in honor of him.

People started forming along the sides of the street to watch the odd parade. Few could identify the two who were being carried on the stretchers, although many of them recognized people like Kakashi and Jiraiya. People started soft conversations, discussing this unusual sight. The guards had allowed them in, so obviously they were a known force, but why they were here was a question few could determine an answer to. The crowd started following the procession as it made its way to Konoha's main administrative building. There, the hokage stepped out from the doors, dressed in her most formal robes, wearing even the rarely-adorned hat which symbolized her office. She bowed her head to Hana, indicating it was her word first.

"Hokage-sama," Hana stated, bowing deeply. This particular ceremony had been a hastily researched and agreed to method for their arrival, but it hadn't been done since before the village of Konoha was known by that name. However, it had been decided before they left that it would be necessary to use these trappings to impress upon most of Konoha the seriousness of this occasion. "We, the ninja of Blossom, who hold you in allegiance, come seeking your succor and aide."

"I will hear the request of my subordinates from Blossom," Tsunade replied just as formally.

"Two of our greatest warriors fell in battle to a mighty foe," Hana said. "A third is hurt, as well. We seek the assistance you can provide in restoring these three to health."

"As your Hokage, I will grant this request... and I welcome home our distant cousins." She stepped aside, revealing the open doors of the administrative building, and the procession slowly marched inside. When the last in line -- Jiraiya -- passed the threshold, she folled them in closing the doors behind them all without a word.

To say the citizens of Konoha were left with more questions then answers would be an understatement.

* * *

"What was all that about?" Hinata asked. She hadn't left the condo she had been living in since Sakura and Ino had left, and niether had Kiba. The two of them were much too valuable a target to allow in the open unguarded, most of the time, but Aburame Shino -- whose clan had proven in the end to settle on the 'neutral' side of things -- could often act as their window to the world. None of the Hyuuga factions wanted to risk the Aburame's wrath should they target him, so even if he as an individual had made an obvious choice as to what side he took, he was safe as long as he wasn't actively engaging in any hostilities. He also proved to be quite good at finding out information for them, and was just about all they needed in the way of personal protection around thier home.

Shino paused for a moment, apparently listening to the words of one of his bugs. After a few moments, he nodded slowly. "Well... it seems as if Naruto has returned to Konoha."

She gasped. "N-naruto-kun?"

Kiba flinched visibly. He had long been jealous of the place in Hinata's heart that Naruto took in her heart. The fact that the boy was obviously no threat to his own courtship of the Hyuuga girl, considering what Shikamaru had told all of the remaining rookie nine of his journey to Blossom, allowed him to keep any feelings of rivalry from developing, but that didn't keep him from stiffening every time he saw her reaction to even his name being mentioned. "All that fuss, just for one man?" he groused.

"It seems as if he had a sizable honor guard with him. And he was carried into town on a stretcher, along with Sakura. There was a formal ceremony at the gates of the administrative building involving the hokage, but there is little to be learnt from that, other then to confirm that it was the village of Blossom who arrived. Kakashi and the legendary Jiraiya were both with the party, as were several others of interest to the two of you. From your clan, Kiba, came Hana and Futaba, along their five dogs." He paused, then sighed. "And your sister Hanabi is with them as well, Hinata-san."

Hinata took in a deep, hissing breath in surprise. "I knew that Neji-sensei was being sent to Blossom for an extended period. I was quite distressed that my cousin, teacher, and most powerful warrior was being stripped from me. If Hinata is returning, though, I can understand why one of my clan would be sent out... but I still wonder why him."

Kiba swallowed. This was news to him, and bad news at that. Neji had proven to be a powerful ally when the time had come for him to announce his intentions with Hinata... and had saved the both of them from assassination more then once. He had also proven to be invaluable in training Hinata up to become one of the more powerful ladies in the Hyuuga clan -- possibly not as strong as Neji himself, but strong enough to earn the respect of her fellow clan members despite her relatively disappointing start. He also didn't trust Hanabi -- although Hinata had some unshakable faith in her sister's character, talking to Neji and others who had dealt with her in the past made him immediately suspicious. The only saving grace for her was that she hadn't come back when the Hyuuga matriarch recalled her to Konoha. He felt he had reason to worry... but couldn't say anything, for fear of upsetting Hinata.

Instead, he focused on the other big news. "Hana and Futaba came, too? Hm... I wonder if I'd recognize them."

"Hana isn't likely to have changed much, although I don't really know her well enough to say for certain," Shino replied. "Futaba was but a child when she left, however. She has grown up some, and matured. She resembles a young Hana. I didn't know her at all before she left, but the markings on her face and her smell of dog were more then enough to prove of her identity."

"We'll have to see them," Kiba suggested. "It's been a long time."

"We have to see all of them," Hinata corrected, taking the commanding tone she had been forced to develop over the years as one of the most powerful clan leaders in Konoha. She was still painfully shy at times, but having been thrust into a leadership role simply because she had a different choice of suitors in mind then her parents desired had forced her to either toughen up or to surrender, and she'd chosen to toughen up. It had the side effect of having her occasionally switch from shy to domineering and back in the same conversation -- sometimes two or three times -- which was giving her the reputation of having multiple personalities. Those who really knew her, though -- who were the important ones -- realized what was really going on with her. "We all know that both my father and mother will be acting on these changes, for good or ill. We shall simply have to come up with a plan as well, and talk with them as needed."

Kiba hesitated. "Well... um, all of them meaning my clan and yours, or all of them meaning everyone who just came from Blossom?"

"I mean all of them from Blossom," she shot back. "Mother has been looking for a trigger -- something she could use to justify breaking Tsunade-sama's imposed non-combat zone to launch an assault on me and father -- and hasn't found one in three years. We must take action to prevent the people of Blossom -- including all our relatives -- from doing something to become that trigger."

Shino sighed. "I suppose you'll want a dossier on each of the new arrivals by tomorrow morning?"

"At least a basic one, yes," she answered, then shifted down again now that the threat seemed to be taken care of for the moment. "If you can, of course... I really don't want to impose on you too much, so--"

"My bugs will work tirelessly, tonight," Shino replied, cutting her off. When she got to apologizing, she could go on forever, and even her infinitely patient Aburame clan teammate would get tired of it if he let her go on too long. "But they don't sleep, anyway. I, however, shall... and I'll try and write up everything I can for you in the morning."

She smiled gently. "Thank you, Shino-kun. That means a lot to me."

Kiba yawned loudly. "I suggest you let the human part of you get some sleep now, while you can. I'm already tired, myself, and we all have important things to do in the morning."

"Oh?" Shino asked curiously. "I didn't know either of you were busy tomorrow."

"I have to go see the doctor for some... routine work," Hinata explained. "Kiba will, of course, be accompanying me."

Shino nodded. "I'll leave you to your rest, then."

With that, he departed... although not far. He had moved into a nearby condo on his own, and his bugs alerted him to any hostile approach early enough to warn the young couple without having to actually live in the same place as they did. Those bugs did more then protect them for him, however... they also listened in on them for him. There was much they hid from everyone -- even him -- and it had been in his best interest to find out what they said when they thought no-one was around.

"Well, I'd have to say the timing of this couldn't have been worse," Kiba sighed as they both prepared themselves for bed. At least, that's what it sounded like -- he could 'hear' through a chain of his bugs, but he would have to wait for the ones keeping an eye on them in order to 'see' exactly what they were doing. He was certain they were in the bedroom, however, since he knew which bug was listening in... and he always had that particular bug located in their bedroom. One of his more self-centered 'best interests' in keeping them under surveillance was his vouyeristic streak, after all.

"I haven't even been tested yet, so there's still a chance we'll be able to weather this storm without us having to worry about _that,_" Hinata replied softly.

"But if you are--"

"Then we'll deal with it," she soothed. "We've managed to deal with everything that has come against us so far. We can deal with this."

"With the two of us, yes," Kiba replied. "But only with the aide of Neji -- who is gone. Your mother is not above taking advantage of all this."

"I am worried," Hinata admitted. "But... we'll deal with it. We always have, and we always will."

"Let's get to sleep," Kiba sighed after a long pause. "Tomorrow, we'll learn whether it's the two of us who have to deal with all of this... or the three of us."

Shino, from his condo, frowned. _Three? Who's the third?_ But no answers were forthcoming, and his question remained unanswered.

* * *

Next Chapter: The prognosis on Naruto and Sakura, and Gai's team arrives in Blossom. 


	62. V4 Chapter 2

Volume 4

Notes: Despite what some people think, the suffix 'kun' is applicable to both males and females. It's more commonly used by women for men, but not always. (A very significant Anime reference would be Kimagure Orange Road, where the lead male constantly addresses the lead female as 'Ayakawa-kun.') Think of kun as a more familiar san -- not less formal, exactly, but more familiar. Likewise, 'chan' can be used on men, as well... though less often, and usually in a diminutive or affectionate manner. A girl might call her boyfriend 'chan,' or an older sister might tease her younger brother with a 'chan.' It's much more commonly used between girls or to address children. Not always -- one thing I've learned about honorifics, they're almost impossible for a westerner to completely decifer, and while I think I have a better grasp on them then most in this country, I'm not perfect -- but I try to, at the very least, pattern my honorific selection among the characters based on similar relationships in various anime I have seen, if not directly from the manga itself (as in the case of Sakura calling Tsunade 'shishou'). Not a perfect system, by any stretch of the imagination, but one I work for.

The last chapter was not unusually short, despite a few comments asking about it. It did follow two very long chapters, so you might have had that impression, but it was 4300+ words. And had no authors notes. I try to keep the chapters between 4000 and 7000 words usually, including the author's notes, so that was fairly average actually. If a chapter is exceptionally short by word count, I'll make a note of it... but that was not the case then, nor is it the case now. So enjoy this rather average-length chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2

Tsunade sighed, glancing from her notes to the two people in the hospital beds and back again. She probed each of them with her medical chakra once again, and shook her head. No change.

"What's the verdict?" Kakashi asked from the doorway behind her.

"It seems, just as you feared, that fixing this is going to be harder then fixing the tsukiyomi afflictions you and Sasuke had. There are still a few things I could try, but I'm running out of ideas... however, at this point, they may actually be able to get themselves out of it. I'm just not sure how to tell them what to do on their end, however," she said.

Kakashi cocked his head questioningly. "On their end?"

"Fixing Moegi was simple enough," Tsunade explained. "Because the problem wasn't hers -- it was kyuubi's. She'll still be wheelchair-bound for a few weeks, since she won't have the kyuubi-enhanced healing that Naruto somehow granted her. And let me tell you, I _really_ want to know how he did that... but all of her health problems have been caused by the kyuubi-influenced blood in her reversing her natural healing abilities instead of assisting them. I don't think that this particular side-effect was something Itachi even knew was possible when he did this technique, however, because that's not what his technique seems to have been designed to do. Rather, it was designed to entrap Naruto and Sakura -- or rather, their metaphysical essences -- inside of kyuubi. Essentially, they've been locked in a cage with the demon. I've opened the cage door wide enough for them to escape, but there's no way for them to know that the door is open at this point."

"Is there any risk of kyuubi itself escaping through that door?" Kakashi asked, mildly alarmed.

"No," Tsunade said. "The original seal that the Fourth placed on it, and the one Jiraiya used to supplement that seal on Sakura, remain intact. At this point, they're in a prison in their own making, and none of the three of them know they're free of it. If they did, Moegi's kyuubi healing would be restored, Naruto and Sakura would wake up and be able to call upon the kyuubi's chakra as they have learned to do, and the kyuubi itself... would be as free as Naruto allowed it to be, like always."

Kakashi nodded slowly, considering that. "Could Ino-chan help them? She went into Naruto's mind once, already, and I doubt she would have an objection to doing so again in this case."

"It might work," Tsunade agreed. "And I've considered it. However, I'm not sure it's safe for her to go in at the moment. There are still traces of the original mental damage of a tsukiyomi present in their systems -- minor artifacts which will require them to be awake to drive out entirely, much as I had to work with you for a few minutes after we got you awake from the tsukiyomi -- that I am unsure about. I'm not ruling anything out, at this point, but Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are quite stable at the moment, and giving them a chance to work out of it naturally is in everyone's best interest. I'm going to try and take that time to minimize whatever risks Ino-chan might face should her help be required."

"So how long are you going to give them to get out of it, themselves?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade stepped over to the window, from which she could see a good portion of the village she was ostensibly in charge of. As usual, it was a peaceful sight -- especially in the light of dawn -- but she knew all too well how deceptive that view really was. 'Peace' was not a term that could be assessed to Konoha's streets since well before she had returned to her home town. They were beset from the outside by the Sound and from the inside by clan disputes, and it really was too much for any one person to handle. Things had been so bad that she had been forced to let up on most of the surveillance on just about anyone outside of Konoha but the Sound. She wanted to keep a watch on the Rock, as well, but she just didn't have the time to deal with them and the Sound _and_ the internal situation with the Hyuuga. She needed help, and she knew it.

"Two weeks, no more," she said. "But I suppose I should lift the movement restrictions I've placed on you and the rest of Blossom's ninja that I've kept in place for the week you've been here. I imagine you all have started getting a bit of cabin fever after having been sequestered into the Administrative Building since you got here."

"I've dealt with worse in my life," Kakashi replied. "But some of our younger ones are getting a bit restless, I will admit."

Tsunade grinned bitterly. "I'm a bit reluctant to do it, but I know they want to go out exploring. Furthermore, I know that Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba have come by a number of times in order to 'visit their families,' and I've had to turn them away each time. Thankfully, no-one else from either of their clans has started knocking on the doors, just yet, and nor has anyone from the Akimichi clan looking for Moegi, but it's only a matter of time..."

"And it'll become harder and harder to deny them access. I understand," Kakashi said, sighing. "Jiraiya sure isn't complaining about being held here, though."

Tsunade flushed slightly. "It has been a long time for us."

"He's not the ninja he was when he left," Kakashi pointed out. "Go easy on him."

"He'll be recovering his strength, soon," she said. "I'm being quite... gentle. I'm also going to help him learn some of my techniques for reducing the effects of aging, once he can handle it again."

"I thought his problem was aging -- Sakura-chan's medical reports said as much, anyway. How is he going to recover from that?" Kakashi asked, curious.

"You'll know soon enough," Tsunade sighed. "But not until the current problems with Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are resolved. In the meantime, there are certain things I have to discuss with you..."

* * *

Shizune glanced over at the others in the room as they waited for the arrival of the 'new blood' they had heard was finally in town. What remained of the leadership in town was a rather... eclectic crowd. As other preparations were being made for the journey to Konoha, Kakashi had reorganized the government of Blossom to allow certain individuals who had been involved in its real leadership over the years to maintain some control over the village. Gai would be the new 'acting-Jounin-oyabun,' of course, but that was understood to be a temporary decision. Kakashi had seniority, and would be returning to take back the reins soon enough, so his 'organization in place' would be unalterable except in an emergency. That 'organization in place,' however, hadn't exactly been in place long, for the most part.

There was Kireme, the 'Civilian Liason.' Ebisu, the new 'Local Government Liason,' who currently was in negotiations with the daimyo. Udon, whose math skills gave him the position of the 'Treasurer.' There was someone who wore a disguise, who became head of the ANBU in Blossom. Even Pansuke, whose genin-level rank wasn't enough to preclude her from being named 'Chief, Counter-Espionage Division,' which essentially was the same as the ANBU's job. About the only members of the 'government' who had any sort of job before Kakashi made the reorganization were Shizune herself, as head of the hospital (and the current acting Jounin-oyabun) and Haruno as head of the Academy... and there was a good chance that Haruno would be leaving fairly soon.

"When do you leave?" Shizune asked, hoping to end the silent waiting with some small talk.

"Don't know, yet," Haruno replied, sighing. "I'm hoping they'll wake up before I do, because... well, I'd like to know if I need to pack a change of clothes, or a household."

The medical ninja raised an eyebrow at her. "Surely you've already started packing..."

"Of course! I've emptied out the refrigerator, packed some clothing and essentials, and done some additional basic work. There's stuff that shouldn't be packed, though, unless they're... gone for an extended period."

Shizune winced, knowing that she really meant 'unless they were dead.' Perhaps this 'small talk' wasn't a good idea, after all.

Fortunately, she was saved from further awkwardness by the arrival of Gai and his team of jounin. It was, of course, dramatic, flashy, over the top, and patently ridiculous -- with turtles and clouds of ninja smoke and everything. After the first near-blinding flash, Shizune kept her eyes closed for most of it.

"Hm... this government Kakashi set up just screams of the enthusiasm of youth!" Gai cried, dismayed. "Mixed with the cool-headedness of experience. Kakashi... you win this one!"

"Win? Win what?" Pansuke asked -- the only person in the room who wasn't aware of Gai's reputation or his rivalries. Even Kireme knew from the stories she had heard from Naruto, Sakura, and Ino.

"Don't ask," Neji sighed. "So, who is everyone?"

Introductions were made, and Shizune was able to deliver the general situation report fairly quickly -- they had suspended new missions temporarily, due to a backlog and a lack of manpower, but that was not as serious as it would have been in Konoha proper. In point of fact, Blossom had gotten a reputation for taking on more missions then it should be able to handle, and there had been a few other times they had temporarily had to put a hold on new missions over the years. Some of that had come from the need to counteract the late Ogata's plans by any subterfuge possible -- and, since Naruto had been able to assume enough visible control to be the one to determine when they had 'taken on too much,' there had been few questions about that -- but a couple times it had honestly been a case of just having taken too much -- some missions would run longer then expected, others would require more manpower then expected, and so forth, always making it harder to follow through on their commitments. The loss of two full teams plus much of the leadership had certainly contributed to this being one of those honest cases, and that helped reduce the length of time needed to explain everything to Gai. The new 'acting-jounin-oyabun,' however, wasn't exactly pleased at everything he heard.

"There's a brothel in this village?" he cried, outraged, upon hearing a report that there was a certain meeting in the aforementioned building. "But that could corrupt the spirit of our golden youth in their most formative years!"

Kireme twitched slightly, then smirked in a rather dangerously playful manner. "Well, we certainly try," she quipped.

Gai's mouth dropped open in shock. Tenten and Lee both blushed. Even Neji looked a little nonplused, although that might have been because he'd taken the seat next to her and even his eyes hadn't realized it until just then. "But... but..." the older jounin stammered. "But you can't be a ninja and a brothel worker at the same time!"

"Konoha couldn't afford to send an instructor for courtesan training," Kireme commented, amused. "And my brothel needed refuge. A deal was struck, and I am now the instructor for courtesan training, in addition to being the civilian liason. I started off learning to be a ninja auxilliary for the position when we moved here, and was recently promoted into the ninja reserve as a chuunin with three years seniority in the administrative sector."

Tenten blushed even brighter. "Um... I'm supposed to be taking courtesan training, soon, myself. I've just been too busy lately..."

Kireme eyes her up and down. "You should be fine."

"Kireme-sensei is a good teacher," Pansuke piped in. "You'll like her class."

"I'll try not to embarrass you, too much," Kireme added for Tenten's benefit.

"Ah! Kakashi! You are so hip!" Gai cried to the heavens. "This is so unfair!"

Kireme considered correcting the man about just who came up with the plan that brought her brothel into town, but decided against it. Instead, she asked, "Uh, is he always like that?"

"Unfortunately," Neji replied.

Lee, who usually would have stepped in to defend his teacher at that point, was strangely silent. Or, rather, strangely absorbed -- the reason he said nothing was not any loss of respect for the teacher who could almost be considered a father to him, but rather he was too focused on not showing the pain a sudden flair up in his ankle was causing. He slowly stood up, masking any discomfort, and bowed to the rest of the room. "I think I've heard enough to do my job, here," he said finally. "So I think I'll turn in."

Gai shot him a glance of concern. "Lee? Are you okay?"

Lee put on his best 'Nice Guy' pose, forcing the smile through the pain. "Yes, Gai-sensei!" he chirped. "But it's been a long journey, and I had plans to train with my team all day tomorrow!"

"Oh!" the older jounin crowed. "The enthusiasm of youth triumphs once again! Go forth, Lee! Make your genin the pride of our new village!" His teeth still gleamed as he returned the pose.

Lee left the room slowly, saying nothing and hoping his sensei would see nothing unusual in his behavior. Gai did not, but Shizune -- reading a report from the hokage on certain 'warning signs' to look out for -- was paying much more attention. What she saw, she certainly didn't like... and so it seemed she would have to be writing a letter to her former medical trainer after all. There was nothing certain in his behavior at all, but it looked as if the suspicions were true. Lee was in serious trouble... and if he didn't come asking for help, soon, his career -- and likely his very life -- would be over all too soon. That, or she would have to bench him... and, knowing Lee, that would be worse then even losing his life.

* * *

"So, we're allowed just one day of leave to visit our families?" Futaba protested, glaring at the hokage's latest assistant. "No more than that? Why not?"

Shikamaru -- who, somewhat against his will, was that particular assistant to the hokage -- sighed. "I realize this is quite troublesome, but I don't have any say in the matter. The domestic tension is too high to allow those of you who might become targets out for more then a day, and to keep things fair everyone is being given the same restrictions. Furthermore, I'm required to let you know that none of your families will be allowed to know this is happening until you arrive at their doorstep. If word of this slips out ahead of time, everyone's leave will be cancelled. This is a tide-me-over visit only, intended to just give you all times to allay your families' fears until additional security measures can be taken to ensure the safety of Konoha. That is all."

He turned and left the room, ignoring the questions shot his way. If anyone (such as Ino, who knew he had been spending years trying to perfect a technique which could allow him to do such a thing) noticed that he closed the door not with his hands but with his shadow, they were too busy shouting after him to notice. That a part of his shadow remained in the room as he left went just as unnoticed, as the sound of the door being slammed shut was quite final, and disrupted most of the protests.

"Well, crap," Konohamaru snorted once it was clear Shikamaru would not be returning. Hefting his son gently in a gesture, he said, "Think they mean Dashi-chan, too? I'm tempted to leave him with my family until we're allowed out of here on a more... permanent basis."

"We've got until tomorrow to find out, if you're that interested," Ino pointed out. "I'm sure the hokage is willing to listen to you."

"Actually, Konohamaru-kun," Moegi said from her wheelchair. "I'd like to take him to my family, instead. It would be, um, difficult for your clan to know how to feed a baby of mine."

He laughed, bending down to kiss her on her forehead. "I don't mind putting him under the care of your clan, but there may be a problem. We'll have to split up -- since we've only got one day, you'll have to take him to your clan and get him squared away while I go to mine and let them know what's going on. The thing is, though... you aren't supposed to walk for a few days, still, and I imagine it's a bit hard to both take the baby and push the wheels of your wheelchair yourself."

Moegi looked a bit crestfallen. "Oh, yeah. Damn..."

"I'll help," Hanabi volunteered suddenly. The young couple looked at her oddly, so she decided to explain. "I really don't want to visit my family right now -- _any_ of my family. If I'm duty-bound to help Moegi-chan, I'd have a pretty good excuse, don't you think?"

Adaha coughed, attracting her attention. Behind him, Inari and Umiko were shifting nervously. "Um, what about us? Do we tag along, or... what?"

Hanabi blew out a low breath. While it would be wrong to say she had forgotten about them, it might be true to say that she'd forgotten the problems she'd caused herself by taking the trio as lovers. "I... don't think it's a wise idea for you to walk with me until whatever these 'additional security measures' are in place. The four of us together would be a bit of a target for my mother and her part of the clan."

Inari nodded as if he had expected it, and Umiko frowned but otherwise didn't give any outwards appearance of caring. Adaha, however, looked crestfallen. "Then... what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Good question," Hanabi mused, chewing her bottom lip nervously. "These restrictions the hokage is placing on us are quite warranted, and there are a number of people who it would be... dangerous for you to meet. Mom and any of her allies would kill you on the spot, and dad... might not be too happy, either, considering everything. I suppose you might be safe within my sister's faction, but I'm not sure where they would be held up and how you could get there."

Ino was the one to contribute some help this time. "I know where Hinata is. She's living in a condo Sakura-chan and I own -- which should be a pretty safe journey, since to get there you would have to pass through the holdings of both my clan and the Inuzuka. I bet you I could get them there safely."

"We'll join the escort team," Hana replied, pointing to Futaba and their dogs. "I'd like to see Kiba-chan, and if the condo is where I think it is then it's close enough to our home that we can see our parents, too."

"Good!" Hanabi chirped. "I don't really want to visit my sister since I think that might start the war Tsunade-sama is keeping us here to avoid, but I'd like you guys to meet at least some of my family."

Adaha blushed. "Um, right. I guess 'meeting the parents' is something we're not likely to be doing any time soon."

"Ever, if I have my way," Hanabi agreed. "Not the way they are, now."

Chikan coughed. "Hm. Seems everyone here has someone to visit but us and Anko-san," he said nervously, referring to his teammates. "But you've all also got serious problems to worry about, too. I don't want to miss out on getting out of here, though, and I certainly don't want to intrude on anyone. Anko-san, could you give us a tour of the village tomorrow?"

Anko hesitated. "Um... I think I have plans."

"Come along with us," Futaba suggested. "My clan should be able to escort you safely through a tour -- the Hyuuga aren't likely to attack any clan outside their own without extreme provocation, and my clan is one of the largest in Konoha. We could probably even take you to the door of the Hyuuga estate safely, if you want. Probably not in it, though." While the trio of Wave-country born ninja were ignorant of the fact, the Hyuuga 'estate' was actually its entire original holding inside the village prior to Konoha's unification. Not being allowed inside a portion of Konoha roughly the size of the village they had been trained in would probably seem a significant thing to them, if they knew, but as casually as Futaba mentioned it they weren't aware of the significance.

"Works for me," Chikan said, turning to his teammates. "What about you guys?"

"Well," Konoha said, a bit surprised at how his intention to bring his baby to meet his folks had evolved. "It seems we've got a plan."

* * *

The woman known only as 'Hyuuga-sama' sat at her desk, waiting for the reports from her spies. It had been so long since anyone called her anything but 'Hyuuga-sama' that no-one, not even her own husband, remembered her given name... and she was quite pleased about that. Every generation, only the first three Hyuuga women and two Hyuuga men were permitted into the main branch of the family -- the others all to be sealed as soon as they were of the right age... although, after the death of Hizashi, Hiashi had declared that those numbers would be expanded some, allowing Hanabi to be given the right to remain with the main branch. Long before then, however, it had been a shock to the entire clan when three women ahead of 'Hyuuga-sama' in line were killed the day before her birthday... but, as she was only three years old at the time, no-one suspected her of being the cause of their death. Investigations cleared her parents of any wrongdoing, and so the scandal attached to her name went unsolved. Somewhere, rooted deep in her, there was a little guilt over her betrayal of her sisters... but it was her life that was on the line, after all. She no longer even remembered doing it... but she did remember the deep-seated resolve she had come up with to cover her crime: She had decided to be the strongest proponent in all of history for the enforcement of traditions... especially including the application of Caged Bird seals. Outliving all of the other women of her generation won her elegibility to become the matriarch of her clan, and her devotion to the position gave her the job of clan head... although the power had been split with her husband. The belief among the Hyuuga had been that she would keep the traditions, Hiashi would provide the necessary innovations to keep their clan from becoming too stagnant, and the 'love' of their marriage would keep that power from splitting. Unfortunately, no-one knew that she and Hiashi had never really loved each other -- theirs had been an arranged marriage, and there might have been some sort of friendship as they knew each other since birth, but love was never a factor in their lives.

And so she would maintain power, even if the person contesting her rulings was her daughter... or her husband. In fact, she needed to make an example of her daughters, to prevent the clan from forgetting who was really in charge. And Hanabi had returned... so she would soon learn if either of them could be spared. But she would have to wait for the reports, first.

The shadows around her desk moved, and finally the person she was waiting for had arrived. She had been forced to contract outside of Konoha to find someone with the talent she wanted -- most of Konoha had aligned itself against her, and her Hyuuga clan weren't appropriate for the kind of infiltration she wanted in the hokage's offices. The Rock, however, had access to spies the likes of which even Konoha couldn't always detect, and so she had recruited an agent from them to get information from those offices for her.

"Well?" she demanded impatiently.

"That boy who 'controls the shadows' has no idea that another person could hide in them," the Rock agent snorted. "I've loved making him think he is able to use techniques he has yet to truly master, and--"

"That is not what I want from your report," Hyuuga growled. "What side is my 'daughter' on?"

He sighed. "Well, if that's all you care about... I think it's pretty obvious she's taking Hinata-san's side. Apparently, they're the 'only ones' in her family she would trust not to attack her... friends. At least, I think they were just friends."

"Hmph. Then she'll just have to die, when I can get to her."

The agent nodded, smirking at her. "Indeed. Well, I have news for you on that, as well -- tomorrow, the people of Blossom are allowed outside of the Administrative building for the first time... although only from dawn until nightfall. Hanabi-san intends to spend that day helping an injured friend visit her clan -- the Akimichi. She will be all alone except for a cripple and a baby..."

"A cripple and a baby, eh?" Hyuuga replied. "Well, I suspect we can work around that much protection. So, I suppose that tomorrow, I'll be paying my 'darling daughter' a little visit. Thank you."

The Rock agent smiled darkly. The 'mission' she hired him for was only the tip of the iceberg as far as what information he had been able to collect... and he was certain his _real_ superiors would be much more interested in that information then this woman would be. Things were looking up for him, it seemed. "The pleasure was all mine... trust me."

* * *

Notes: I realized when I needed to refer to Konohamaru and Moegi's baby that I never even named him. Oops. I gave him the name 'Dashi.' Uh, it means broth, and I chose it because I figured it was a way they could honor both their teammate, Udon (the name of a type of fat-noodled ramen-like soup) and Naruto (the name of, among other things, a type of processed fish sausage (or cake, depending on your translation) added to both Udon soup and Ramen soup. Silly, I know, but... well, like I said a couple chapters ago, I'm really starting to run out of names. I'm terrified of what I'll be calling people when I have to start giving out names for the next-gen sequel...

A little motivation for the Hyuuga matriarch there, along with a bit of description of how I figure the Hyuuga clan remains sizable enough to be considered a 'clan' rather then just a single family line. I have been getting a few questions about things like 'how did Neji get born if the Caged Bird seal makes it impossible for the Hyuuga traits to be passed down by the bearer?' and 'How did Hanabi escape from being given the Caged Bird?' Well, Neji's father married the 'extra' Main-line female and produced Neji. I have a bit of a storyline idea involving that, and how Neji was entirely unaware of this situation, but I may never get to it -- I seem to have written around it, already in fact, and there isn't really space for it in the main story. And Hanabi... well, Hiashi spared her by expanding the 'main line' somewhat... a bit too late for Neji, however.

Well, I know at one point I was strongly hinting that Volume 3 was the last appearance of Kireme, but I had a bit of a change of heart when I realized I had to write more on what was going on out in Blossom for Volume 4. So, she's back, but she doesn't have any more major role perfomances PLANNED, as of yet, although that may change. (I will say that she took out a lot of what I intended to have Ino do in Volume 3's conclusion, so the same may be the case here -- she may get a role that I intended for someone else but which fits her better. We'll see)

Gai is the single hardest person in the whole fanfic to write for -- perhaps one big reason why he and his team have been featured so little in the fanfic so far. Since I anticipate increasing Neji and Lee's roles in Volume 4, I'll probably have to deal with him sometimes, but I hope to keep him off screen as much as possible. If he's your favorite character, I'm sorry, but don't expect him to come up big... well, ever. Shikamaru is second hardest... but he's still significantly easier. He'll be around often enough. And no, I don't intend for him to be shown as a great medical ninja in addition to his other talents -- the abilities Tsunade wanted from him were entirely organizational and administrative, not to have yet another 'apprentice.'

Next Chapter: An Assassination Attempt, As you might expect.


	63. V4 Chapter 3

Volume 4

Notes: Remember a while back I said I wasn't quite sure what all I'd be doing with Moegi's sudden connection to the kyuubi? I know I'd already used it a time or two before, but now, guess what. I figured her role out... and it's happening this chapter.

I wish I could say that the long delay was because I was writing a really, really long chapter, but I can't. A higher-end of the average range, yes, but the delay was actually caused by a cold (with flu-like symptoms) that made it impossible to write for several days. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter 3

Shikamaru found Tsunade where he had found her each morning of the week since the arrivals from Blossom. She was always awake, alert, and sitting in the makeshift hospital room they had placed Naruto and Sakura in, sitting and staring at them. She obviously was writing something the entire time that she sat there, but he didn't know what it was and she was always just chewing on her pen instead of writing whenever he came through the door. A couple times, he'd found Jiraiya or Kakashi waiting with her, but usually she was alone. It disturbed him, somewhat -- not just her unusually sober behaviour, but the way she seemed so obsessed with the health of these two people. He understood, to some extent -- he kind of liked Naruto and Sakura, too -- but he had seen her care for people she liked, before, without showing nearly this much concern. It was quite apparent she was planning something... although the big question was what. And what it had to do with these two, if anything.

This morning, there was someone new waiting with her. Anko, who Shikamaru only vaguely recognized as one of the instructors for his chuunin exam, was sitting at Naruto's bedside. Tsunade, herself, was staring not at her usual targets of Naruto and Sakura, but at the dark-haired woman. The hokage looked pale and shocked, and Shikamaru wondered just what was going on. "Hokage-sama?" he whispered gently, trying to break the unusual tention in the room.

She ignored him, focusing on Anko. "There are times I think of him as my _own _child. Both of them, actually."

Anko nodded. "I'm glad. I wish I had the luxury to... to..."

"You will," Tsunade snapped, shaking her head as if to clear it. "I'll be sure of that."

"But--"

"You _will!_" she repeated forcefully. "He... he deserves it, after all, and so do you."

"Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru said once more, a bit louder, hoping that she would acknowledge his existance at the very least.

"Oh, Shikamaru-kun," she said, startled as if she didn't know he had been there. Which was patently ridiculous, since she was a ninja and should be more observant than that... but it seemed to be quite genuine to him. "What... why are you here? And... how much did you hear?"

He grimmaced wryly. "Well, I heard you say you thought of them as 'your own children,'" he replied. "But that was the only thing I was able to understand."

That wasn't quite true. Shikamaru suspected that, if he spent long enough thinking about what he knew and what had been said, he could probably figure out what was going on. That knowledge, he feared, would have been rather... troublesome, was the word he wanted. It would have probably been yet another big secret he would have to keep despite not wanting to. He really hated this job... but, then again, he hated just about every job he'd been given to date.

"So," Tsunade said, apparently changing the subject. "How was the Sand Ambassador this morning?"

Shikamaru sighed. The 'Sand Ambassador,' a.k.a. Temari, had been living with him for a couple years now, and he was constantly being teased over it. Truthfully, he was getting almost everything he wanted out of life -- he'd spent long enough as a ninja he could retire with a nice pension, marry, and have a few kids. That Temari wasn't exactly 'not too pretty' was a bit of a problem with his intention of marrying someone 'not too ugly, not too pretty,' but not an unpleasant one. Although he supposed he might be a bit biased in assessing Temari's beauty, so perhaps he would manage it... when he married her. She still found him too annoying to say 'yes' when he asked her to marry him, but it was only a matter of time. He was wearing her down, and... well, the sex was pretty good on both their parts, he felt -- good enough she wouldn't want to give it up if it came down to it, and he might force the issue with that. Was it cruel to target a girl for marriage and use sex as part of an ultimatum in that regard? Well, perhaps, but he was fairly certain she was just looking for an excuse to marry him despite his being 'annoying,' and if it helped her to be 'forced' into the marriage, so be it.

Still, being asked about 'how the Sand Ambassador was' by the hokage, each morning, was starting to get a bit troublesome. "Well enough," was all he said after containing his annoyance.

"Still not said 'yes,' yet, huh?" Tsunade asked, smirking. "You know, 'tricking' a girl into marriage doesn't always work. She's more likely to want to be the one to 'trick' you into it..."

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. "Perhaps I should be tricking her into tricking me, then. I'm not sure she cared enough to try anything on her own."

Tsunade giggled slightly. "Hm. What you don't know, I suppose, won't hurt you... in this case." She paused, then gestured to Naruto and Sakura. "Let her know I'm going to want to see her when they wake up. I've got some official business with her regarding them."

"Regarding what?" Shikamaru asked. Perhaps he would finally learn whatever it was Tsunade was spending all of her time working on, lately. As the hokage's assistant, he had thought he would learn things like that much sooner then anyone else... but apparently not. She hadn't confided in her for... well, just about anything, and he was often the last to know when there was important information he needed to know. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and had to wonder just how Shizune had dealt with it all.

"You'll know soon enough, I'm sure," came the answer -- one he had heard all too often, before. But then she added something he wasn't expecting. "She will have permission to discuss it with you, of course, and I doubt she'd keep it a secret from you anyway, but I'm going to ask both of you to keep whatever I tell her to yourselves. I don't want anyone outside of certain select individuals to know anything about this... and that includes Naruto and Sakura."

Shikamaru blinked. "Uh... sure."

"Have the people of Blossom begun their day of liberty, yet?"

"Konohamaru left alone to see his clan, and Hanabi left with Moegi and the baby. The rest of them should be heading out as a group, soon," Shikamaru said. "To the best of our knowledge, their departure went relatively unnoticed."

"I'm still not sure of this," Tsunade sighed. "But we had to do something. If anyone tries anything, it'll be in daylight hours, at least... and it should cut down on some of the public demand to visit 'relatives.' Plus it'll let Konohamaru and Moegi introduce their new baby to the families. But the risks are still very high."

"We have agents posted all over the place to keep an eye on things," Shikamaru sighed. "If anyone tries anything, we'll be able to react in time. Everything should be fine."

* * *

"I really have to thank you for this," Moegi said. "I realize this might be a bit uncomfortable for you, after all."

Hanabi had expected to have to push the crippled girl down the street in her wheelchair, but it turned out that was not the case at all. Instead, she had been given the baby, Dashi (whose family name had yet to be determined as both Moegi and Konohamaru kept their family names when they married), to carry while Moegi pushed herself down the road on her own. The Akimichi girl viewed it as 'exercise,' and Hanabi couldn't fault her on that.

So, she wound up carrying the baby... which was a bit awkward. It wasn't that Hanabi disliked babies -- although one could hardly say she saw what was so 'fun' and 'special' about them. They were just... immature human beings, and that was that. She wasn't one to fawn over them or anything like that. She wasn't entirely against the idea of having her own kids some day, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to it... nor was she entirely sure she which of her male lovers she would rather have father her children when the time came, if either of them. She remembered a few times when she had been given 'babysitting' duties as a genin, and that experience had soured her opinion on the 'joys of motherhood,' but Dashi seemed to be a nice enough kid. At least, he was when he was asleep, and somehow she had managed to carry the baby all the way from the Administrative building without waking him up.

"Well, I admit babysitting was my least favorite of the class D assignments I was given," she said. "But Dashi-chan isn't too much trouble."

"So when are you going to have kids?" Moegi asked slyly. "It's pretty obvious you have a couple boys willing to help you with that, you know."

"I think I'll let Umiko-chan have first crack at it," Hanabi replied wryly. "I'm not sure motherhood is my thing."

"Perhaps not," Moegi conceded. "But you might change your mind at some point. I certainly didn't plan on becoming a mother quite so soon, after all -- not that I didn't want to be one at all, just... not for a few years, yet. But one day, I just... dropped the birth control techniques from my daily regimen -- I didn't want to 'stop' myself any more, and... well, you're carrying the result."

"I could have kids now, if I wanted," Hanabi replied. "After all... I'm a main-line Hyuuga clan member. Despite how persecuted the branch family feels it is, we lower-ranked main line family members are probably worse off. I wasn't really aware of it a few years ago -- I mean, I think back to how I treated some of my cousins and I feel... ashamed -- but we really have little control over our own lives, even if we have a lot of control over the lives of others. The branch line may have to serve us hand and foot, be our guardians and protectors against thier will, and fight to the death in our service... but they have the 'right' to risk themselves. Father was... reluctant to allow me to be a ninja, despite training me himself from birth until my graduation, and only relented because he knew it was safer for the clan if it was split in the two villages then if it was all in one. Even back then, I think he knew this whole civil war was coming, and he was making preparations for it."

"What does this have to do with having a baby?" Moegi asked, curious.

"I'm little more then breeding stock... to both my parents. Father's nicer about it then mother, but that is how they treat me. I'm one of very few girls in the clan able to pass down the family traits, and so I am supposed to be 'bred' with a strong man to produce a stronger child. Initially, I think both of my parents were planning on one of my branch family cousins, but when I went to Blossom and found Adaha-chan, those plans were... not scrapped, exactly, but set aside in the hopes of keeping the family intact. It's fortunate for my clan that I love Adaha-chan... but I'm not even sure I want to have kids with _him,_ much less one of my cousins."

"Well, allow me to save you from that particular life decision, 'daughter,'" a voice growled suddenly.

Hanabi's eyes widened recognizing that voice, even though she couldn't tell where it was coming from despite her byakugan, which she had activated the moment she realized the danger. "M-mother?"

"It is all too obvious to me that you are against me," the disembodied voice answered. "You have refused to come to our aide when I summoned you four years ago, you have taken lovers outside of our clan, and you have sent your emmissaries to the Traitor. I have seen enough."

"I am not against you," Hanabi cried out, still unsure where to direct her voice. "I am neutral. I chose to stay out of the fight, so that the clan would survive even if it killed itself."

"Better our clan die then a traitor such as yourself should lead it," her mother snapped.

Hanabi was in a major dilemma. She knew an attack was coming, but not from where or how. She also knew she would need both hands if she wanted even a partial hope of defending herself... but she was carrying a baby that was not her own. Her responsibility was to the childs protection, and not her own... but the baby was not the target, she was. Yet any movement could be her last, even something to try and get Dashi into the protective arms of his mother, and there was a good chance the child would be caught in the crossfire.

"At least allow me to get this innocent out of harms way," she called desperately. Perhaps there was a chance her mother would hesitate to enrage both the Akimichi and the Sarutobi clans by endangering their newest member.

"No," came the threatening reply.

Moegi was almost in a panic. She could see the Hyuuga traditionalist clansmen -- about a dozen of them, appearing both in front of them and to either side -- but it seemed fairly obvious that Hanabi could not. It might be possible to retreat backwards, but she suspected that would only send the two of them deeper into the trap they had stumbled upon. She saw the flare of chakra belonging to a jyuuken attack from one of the male Hyuuga clan members in front of Hanabi as a fist was being driven to the other girl's heart. The fear for her friends life was amplified as she realized to get to the girl's heart the fist would be driven through her own baby...

She screeched something illegible, leaping out of the wheelchair. Red flickers of chakra flared around her as she moved with a speed even she had never managed before, throwing her fist in a desperate effort to block the blow. Hanabi managed to back away a step, seeing that Moegi was moving, but the most she could do was protect Dashi from where she suspected the attack was coming. She felt the blow strike her shoulder, never seeing where the attack was coming from, and felt the bones in her shoulder shatter. She was knocked back and knocked to the ground, but she'd managed to keep the baby alive.

Her attacker didn't fair as well. A hand clamped around the unknown Hyuuga's wrist, squeezing hard enough to grind the bones underneath into a powder, and the man was dragged closer to the enraged Akimichi woman.

"You have threatened our own," a curiously throaty voice snarled out from her. "This cannot... _will _not be forgiven. All of you will die for this... starting with you."

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Ino asked, pointing to a pillar of red rising to the sky. She was leading most of the ninja of Blossom across town, but the sudden lighting change startled her enough to turn around and see the unusual sight.

Inari blinked. "I... I think I know, although the only two people who I thought could do it are currently under the care of the hokage, recieving medical treatment at the moment," he said slowly. "Naruto-sensei would occasionally flare his red chakra like that as an emergency signal when in combat, a signal calling the rest of the team to him."

Futaba's eyes widened. "Moegi-chan! She's had that red chakra, too, since our chuunin exam! But... no, Moegi-chan's not the target."

Inari, Ran, and Adaha looked at each other in horrified agreement. "Hanabi-chan!" they cried, leaping to the rooftops.

Futaba joined them without comment, whistling for her dogs to follow. Hana cursed, and leapt after her sister. "Wait! We need a plan!"

Not wanting to be left out, Chikan, Shiro, and Sousou leapt after them. Ino grimmaced. Obviously, there was a problem that demanded attention, but they needed to come up with a plan before charging in to whatever was going on. The only problem was that she was alone, and everyone else had left. Just about all of them had run off in a panic. "I guess it should be all of us, then," she sighed, and taking a deep breath followed.

* * *

Tsunade sighed, writing a little more for one of the hand-written dispatches she had been preparing since she heard that Naruto would be returning to Konoha. She had a plan in mind -- one which would finally, hopefully, restore peace inside of Konoha... even if it wouldn't necessarily do so outside of it. The reports she'd heard from the Sand about the movements the Rock were making were... disturbing, to say the least. It seemed as if things went from tense crisis to tense crisis... and so far, not one of them -- not the Sound, not the Hyuuga conflict, not the search for certain missing nin (Sasuke and Itachi being the most prominent), and now not the Rock situation -- had been resolved, successfully or not. Blossom had paid dividends, however, resolving another crisis in the making for her with the Ogata business. Still, that wasn't enough... something more had to be done to stabilize Konoha... and so she'd made her plans.

However, those plans required Naruto to reawaken -- and Sakura too, if possible. That she felt about them as if they were her children entered into why she kept a constant vigil on them, but that was hardly all of it. Anko's little revelation about her own role as Naruto's mother had complicated matters some, but they wouldn't ruin her plans... she hoped. At any rate, she would have to discuss things with Naruto and Sakura... and, hopefully, soon.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a sudden flare of chakra outside. She ran to the window to see the eerie red glow coming from the middle of town. It didn't take a legendary ninja to feel it when a corresponding flare erupted in the room with her. She turned to see Naruto and Sakura awake for the first time since their arrival.

"Naruto-kun! Sakura-chan!" she exclaimed happily. She wasn't sure why they had awoken so suddenly -- probably whatever was going on in town had something to do with it, but she had no knowledge of what _that_ was, even -- but she was quite pleased to see them finally conscious.

Naruto glanced at her, nodding in acknowledgement. "Later," he said, standing. It was then she noticed the red eyes and fangs emerging from his mouth... and Sakura's, now that she had a chance to look at her, too.

"What? 'Later?' What does that mean?"

"Reunions later," he clarified, turning to the window. "We are needed. Out of the way!"

Without saying another word, or even pausing to change out of hospital clothes, he crashed through the window towards that column of red she had just seen. He rushed by her so quickly she was knocked back by his movement. Sakura followed him a moment later, having yet to saw a word, and Tsunade was knocked to the ground at her passing. "What's going on?" she cried.

Anko, who had been in the room with her but had been asleep until the window was shattered, caught her before she fell. "Are you alright, hokage-sama?" she asked.

"What's going on?" Tsunade roared impatiently at the red contrails of her two pseudo-children, pulling herself to her feet with as much dignity as she was allowed.

Shikamaru burst in a moment later with an answer to her question. "I've just recieved a report from the surveillance teams we sent out with the Blossom ninja this morning," he said. "Hyuuga-sama is leading her faction of her clan in an ambush. Moegi and Hanabi are under attack, and... just about everyone else from Blossom is on their way to her."

Tsunade blinked, then glanced out the broken window. "Oh, hell."

* * *

The Hyuuga male who had attempted to attack Hanabi through Dashi's body felt his spine shatter into millions of pieces, his ripcage crumble, and his internal organs collapse into jelly with a single blow from Moegi's fist. Fortunately, he didn't even live through it past the first split second, or else the pain of having the rest of the bones in his body turned into a coarse powder as he was launched in the air to slam through a building almost a kilometer away would have been even worse. She stood defiantly in front of the rest of 'Hyuuga-sama's' faction, prepared to treat them all in a similar manner.

But 'Hyuuga-sama' laughed. "Oh, my. So, it seems you are quite the little powerhouse, aren't you? Stay out of this, girl, this is clan business."

"You have tried to harm my own," Moegi growled, her teeth sharpening into fangs. "Your death is now my business."

"Bah," the older woman snorted. "Brats are more trouble then they're worth. But I'll even let you take the baby and leave, if you simply _must_ protect it. But that's the only offer which will allow you -- and the brat -- to get out of here alive. I suggest you take it."

"Your death is now my business," Moegi snapped again. "So--"

"So nothing," 'Hyuuga-sama' shot back, gesturing to her family. "I'm sure you know what I mean when I say, you are within the range of _all_ of our divinations." The rational part of Moegi's mind realized that she was in trouble. Yes, she had the power to kill all of these people... one at a time. But eleven on one was a bit much, and if she really was 'within the range of their divination,' then she wouldn't even be able to get an attack off before she was felled. She tried to think of a new plan, but before she could even start to come up with one the Hyuuga matriarch snorted in disgust. "Fine. You had your chance. Attack!"

There were too many of them coming at her to deflect the attacks without giving ground, so she stepped back... and stumbled over a tripwire. As she started to fall, she saw no fewer then five attackers that she knew she couldn't defend against. She moved to minimize the damage, even though it was futile, and braced herself... only to see all five attackers she couldn't defend against felled in an instant, dogs of the Inuzuka clan clenching their jaws around Hyuuga wrists. Moegi let herself fall the rest of the way to the ground, now that there was some back-up. The tripwire wound up being to her advantage, it seemed, because now it forced her out of the way of her allies attack.

Futaba and Hana landed in front of her, weapons at the ready defensively. Inari, Adaha, and Umiko surrounded the injured Hanabi protectively, incidentally guarding Dashi as well. Ino, Chikan, Shiro, and Sousou were on the surrounding rooftops, prepared to fight as well. Sousou dropped seemingly into the shadows to where Moegi couldn't see her. Shiro could be seen fingering kunai, wires, and various other impliments which worked well with his elemental techniques. Chikan dropped from the roof and disappeared as well, likely burrowing underground with the techniques he had learned by working with the moles for over three years, now. Inari pulled out a bowl of instant ramen, Adaha's eyes flickered slightly as he activated what most people had started referring to as his proto-byakugan. Umiko had yet to do anything, but looked to be mustering the chakra for a summoning. And the dogs, once the advantage of surprise had been worn out, had released their opponents and reformed on Futaba and Hana's flanks. Slowly, her eyes still flashing red, Moegi crawled to her feet.

Hana, however, was the one who spoke next, obviously taking charge of the impromptu assault force. "You will not harm either of these young women," she snapped. "The ninja of Blossom will not allow it."

"I've never heard of a Blossom clan," the Hyuuga matriarch snorted, then paused as if reconsidering. "Oh, you mean that little rat-hole of a village we shunted all of our losers and outcasts into, huh? Oh, _real_ threat there."

"You should view it as a threat," Futaba snarled. "You lack knowledge, bitch, and it'll prove your destruction if you continue to challenge us."

"Oh? Then perhaps I should fight you to guage this 'threat,'" the Hyuuga matriarch laughed, amused. "All of Konoha trembles instead of challenging the power of myself and a handful of the main line of the Hyuuga clan. Do you really think you are more powerful then us?"

Moegi stepped forwards. "One of our number was able to conquer a village single-handedly -- Naruto-sensei. Another was a man with the powers made legendary by the Uchiha clan, Kakashi-sama. Another was a legendary sannin -- Jiraiya-sama. Another two were the apprentices of the hokage -- Sakura-sensei and Shizune-sama. Over the past four years, they have taught all of us their techniques, their courage, and their ethics. Not a single one of them would have 'trembled' if it came down to a fight with you... and none of us will, either." Her eyes narrowed, her voice becoming more gutteral. "And you have attacked and harmed our own. You will all die for that, however powerful you are."

"I'm so scared. You learned from the hands of a hapless prankster, a man who stole another clan's skills, a has-been, a never-was, and a never will be. I'm tired of talking... if you're going to kill me, do it already -- I'm getting bored."

It was apparent the stand-off had turned into a game of 'make the other side flinch,' as each was trying to taunt the other into attacking first. Moegi, however, was following an old lesson of making sure to plan for looking underneath the underneath, and grinned. "Well... I guess we're ready by now, so okay. Attack!"

A hand rose out of the shadows, grabbed one of the Hyuuga by the hair, and pulled them back as a kunai was thrust forward hard. Munamoto Sousou had started things out by making the first kill.

The speed with which the Blossom ninja's attack decimated their opponents startled even them. Inari's chakra-enhanced ramen tied one up, allowing Shiro to launch a devastating fire attack that maybe didn't kill their enemy, but certainly wounded him. Umiko's eagles -- much larger then she had recalled ever being able to summon before, and in greater numbers -- flocked down to carry off yet another Hyuuga, taking her away without anyone -- even Umiko herself -- knowing what became of the woman. Ino employed one of her family techniques to set two of their opponents against each other. Moegi, mysteriously back into her top form, was moving too quickly for her opponent to attack, and striking too hard for him to defend. Futaba, Hana, and their dogs had cornered three others, and were tearing into them.

The Hyuuga matriarch couldn't react until she saw one of her remaining clanswoman being dragged under the ground. Another of her clan was being caught by what she could now see was an animal of some kind, so she struck out and freed her subordinate, only to nearly be caught by two other beasts herself. She pounded them away with expert application of the jyuuken before deciding enough was enough.

"What is this, whack-a-mole?" she groused. "All right, that's it -- retreat and regroup... and then let's show these upstarts what the Hyuuga clan is really like."

A couple well-applied kaiten freed the three being attacked by the Inuzuka women, and the one she had just freed from the moles turned to join her... but everyone froze as they turned to look at her. Or rather, to look behind her. It was then that the Hyuuga matriach sensed it, just on the periphery of her byakugan. And as it got closer, she started to realize that perhaps she should turn to see it with her real eyes, as she hadn't felt a chakra like that in over twenty years, and the last time she sensed it the chakra wasn't human.

She couldn't be entirely certain it was human this time, either. The chakra was too blinding to see anything else, and it was in the shape of not one, but two nine-tailed foxes. That certainly didn't fit with the last time she'd sensed this presence, before -- there should be only one, and he should be much... larger. As large as Konoha, itself, and not merely the size of a couple buildings. Did the kyuubi have puppies or something? She knew the original beast was trapped inside the body of Uzumaki Naruto, who she also knew was in a coma and, according to her spies, appeared unlikely to wake from it. She, herself, had been part of the team to ensure the demon had been properly sealed inside the boy when he was a baby, and knew better then just about anyone how secure it really was. These creatures couldn't be the kyuubi itself... but what were they, then?

The chakra fell back into itself, resolving into the bodies of two people... two people easily recognized as the same couple who had been brought in on stretchers more than a week ago -- Naruto and Sakura. There were some obvious changes -- the red chakra was still quite visible, their eyes were red, their teeth had become fangs, their fingers had become claws, and their postures were more hunched -- but there was no question who they were. Which meant she had been wrong -- it was the kyuubi, indeed. But that would only explain Naruto's transformation -- what had happened to this Haruno girl over the years to give her these features as well?

The middle of a battle was not, perhaps, the best place to be wondering such things, however. "Retreat is not an option for you," Naruto and Sakura chorused throatilly -- their words also echoed by Moegi behind her. "You struck at our own, tried to kill our own. All these present gathered to stop you are a part of our own, and you fought with them as well. Your crimes are compounded by resisting... and we shall destroy you."

The Hyuuga matriach's eyes narrowed. "If that is the kyuubi speaking, know this: I fought you once before and lived. I may not have triumphed, but I was not beaten either. You won't be able to beat me this time, either."

"This time," the three once again chorused. "We are more then just the kyuubi."

"This time," Moegi said from behind her. "Instead of fighting without care to the use of any technique, the kyuubi loans his strength to the powers of an Akimichi." A fist slammed the ground by the Hyuuga matriarch's foot, causing a small fissure to form in the road and forcing her to jump aside and into the reach of Sakura. "And that makes us better then either of us could do alone, for I am an Akimichi, and the kyuubi aids me wherever I have need, and allows me to think and fight as I should."

"This time," Sakura continued from the other girl's lead, "Instead of fighting without any control or precision, the kyuubi loans its chakra to the dynamics of a Haruno, who can think as two people and therefore fight as two people." The red chakra formed a clawed fist as she moved in, grabbing the Hyuuga matriarch's wrists and repelling any possibility of an attack while her real hands formed a rasengan, though had yet to deliver it. "For I am Haruno Sakura, and the kyuubi aids me wherever I have need, and allows me to think and fight as I should."

"This time," Naruto said, circling around to get behind the Hyuuga matriarch's new position. "Instead of fighting alone and friendless, the kyuubi allows its strength to be directed by those wishing to preserve the lives of our friends and family, and gives its aid to those who need it. For I am Uzumaki Naruto, and I fight to become the ultimate protector, the hokage greater then the hokage, and the kyuubi has yielded his strength to my dreams."

Again speaking together, the three concluded, "To the kyuubi is given wisdom, control, and purpose. From the kyuubi is given strength and endurance. A bargain has been reached to protect our own... and our own has been threatened. Moegi, who kyuubi adopted to save her life, was threatened. The life of Dashi, the son of kyuubi's adopted child, was attacked. Hanabi, the ward of the kyuubi's host, was attacked. For these transgressions, all four of us are in agreement: Punishment must be rendered, and that punishment is death."

Moegi moved to restrain the remaining Hyuuga that were likely to interfere. Sakura delivered her rasengan precisely, sending the matriach sailing towards Naruto. Naruto himself had, seemingly without any seals or words to help perform the necessary technique (although, in truth, he probably had... just too fast for anyone to see it), created a shadow clone and started an odango rasengan... in which was tossed several kunai. Normally, someone or something being hit by a rasengan would only feel the effect of a tornado making a direct touchdown on their person. Painful, yes, but survivable in some cases. The maelstrom in front of her, however, was like a hundred meatgrinders all ready to grind the same piece of meat. That... was considerably less survivable.

She must have instinctively raised her arms to ward off the attack, since she certainly didn't remember doing it herself, but now... now she couldn't get them down. And it was taking her far longer to hit that maelstrom then she thought... in fact, now that she looked, she wasn't on target to hit it. Naruto's arms were raising themselves, as well, taking the powerful attack with them. She couldn't move to brace herself as she fell, however, and wound up skidding to the ground at his feet.

"No!" the young blond-haired man howled above her. "Let us go! We must have our revenge!"

"Calm down, Naruto!" a new voice snapped... one easily recognizable as that of Tsunade. "This isn't necessary, and I'm _certain_ you would regret this if you delivered that deathblow in cold blood. Now, calm down, and we'll release you."

The red chakra -- as well as the rasengan -- seemed to dissipate slowly, gradually. The various shuriken which had been tossed inside the whirlwind fell to the ground -- some around her, some on her, one in her (though not deeply). Finally she heard him speak. "O-old hag?"

"I thought I told you not to call me that!" Tsunade growled... then laughed. "But I'm glad to see you're still in control, here."

"Where... how did I get to Konoha?"

"That's a long story. Shikamaru, I think you can let him and Sakura-chan go, now... but don't let Hyuuga-san up until we're out of here, okay?"

Tsunade started talking to Naruto, Sakura joining him after looking at Hanabi's arm, as they and the rest of the Blossom ninja started walking down the road as if nothing had happened, chatting among themselves. A few moments later, she felt a foot nudging her over onto her back, where she recognized the Hokage's latest assistant.

"You've been released. You can get up now," he prompted tiredly. "Sheesh! This is a mess. And I think I need to stay around here until you and your friends, here, pick up all the weapons and repair the roads before I go." He paused. "It'd be too troublesome to do it, myself."

Her eyes narrowed. "How dare you--"

"Or I could just bring Naruto-san back to finish you off. I won't bother to stop him that time. The only reason I did this time was that the hokage said she didn't want to make a martyr of you, but sometimes a dead martyr is less troublesome then a live enemy."

Realizing, suddenly, that the Nara boy had used his family techniques to save her life, the Hyuuga matriarch hesitantly bowed apologetically. "Very well," she said. "We'll clean up here. But be certain to let the hokage know... I am not done. That young woman who was once my younger daughter is now, like the older one, under a sentence of death among the true Hyuuga clan. And we will expect apologies from the heads of certain other clans, as well, whose members stuck their noses where they didn't belong--"

"Look, you can rant if you want, but get to work. I don't want to have to stay here all day listening to you ramble on," Shikamaru said. "Sheesh!"

It had been a long time since someone had treated the Hyuuga matriarch with such disrespect, and she couldn't help but gape at him in wonder. The remaining survivors of her assassination squad, however, had already seen the writing on the wall, and the repairs were almost half done by the time she had regained her composure. But there was one undeniable truth, here: For the first time in a very long time, someone had stood up to the Hyuuga clan, had beaten it, and did not appear to be in fear of any sort of retaliation.

The Hyuuga matriarch finished the repair work absent-mindedly. She had plans to make... plans which would make certain that Hanabi, Naruto, Sakura, Moegi, the remaining ninja of Blossom, and even this rather disrespectful fool of a Nara, all learned the most important lesson she could teach them: No-one defied the will of the Hyuuga clan and lived to enjoy it. No-one.

* * *

Next chapter: Tsunade has an important announcement to make. So important that political representatives from most of the ninja powers in the world are invited to Konoha to hear it. 


	64. V4 Chapter 4

Volume 4

Notes: I usually rely on the review alerts to read my reviews, but e-mail has been acting oddly lately and so I haven't recieved many of them. I may get around to individual responses at some point, but not right now. I'm still recovering from my flu-like cold, as well, despite starting work on this fic again, so I really don't feel like making individual replies to everyone whose comments would normally garner a significant response. Much of what I have recieved, however, has been about Hyuuga-sama and her motives. There are literary and historical parallels to her character (at least three Roman emperors, a few old-testament biblical stories, some horror stories about feudal Japan, stories of the treatment of slaves and their sympathizers, American Indian wars both with 'the White Man' and with each other, African tribal wars, some backwater parts of countries like India even in modern times, etc. Just about every culture in the world, at one time or another, in fact, has had examples of people who behaved similarly, and many of the people who acted such way were supported, even encouraged, to do so), but I don't want to get into all of that. Instead, think of her as someone who thinks of herself as breeding stock looking after breeding stock -- the sick and the weak must be killed, whether they are her children or not. She has no emotional attachment to her children, and in fact wouldn't care about them -- the arranged marraige she was in was loveless, and any children produced from it are just more breeding stock and not people who she would have to worry about. As far as the others in the Hyuuga clan following her, they are ultra-traditionalists who believe in the purity of their line. The lives of anyone outside the Hyuuga clan are irrelevant, the lives of those in the clan are only relevant when they contribute to the 'purity' of the clan. It fits in with the canon Hyuuga -- a clan of people who literally enslave those who are not the firstborn in order to prevent the spread of their clan's blood into the lives of anyone outside of the clan. It's harsh, but actually more common then you'd think. The fact that it is horrific and not exactly comprehensible in many modern societies does not mean it isn't possible for people to think that way. So, I will defend her characterization in this story, regardless -- there have really been people like her in the history of the world, and many of them have been powerful leaders, so I don't see her character as being too far off the bend. She may be a reactionary, but is really just a product of the culture in which she was raised and the clandestine struggles she maneuvered into so as to avoid being enslaved by that very culture.

There is also the question of it being unbelievable that she would be allowed to live after what she attempted, but I think that the answer I would give is much along the lines as the start of this chapter, so I'll let the fic answer it for me. However, do remember that the Blossom side was also unpunished for having killed others earlier in the action, and remember what it looks like if one side took all of the deaths and another takes none. It's a bit of a judgement call, I'll agree, but the alternative is the unknown of what the rest of the Hyuuga clan will think. And remember, better a known enemy then an unknown one.

Actually, I recieved more flack for the last chapter, judging from the reviews I've seen, then I did for the Kakashi-confronting-Naruto-about-Genma's-Death thing way back when, yet I thought it went rather well (better then how some other things I've recieved flack for, at any rate). But, within these messages, I've also recieved some 'as-long-as-we're-talking-about-this' flack for Zetsu's death. Is it cheap? Yeah. But it's meant to be cheap. It's my equivalent of the death of Attila the Hun -- a violent and powerful barbarian warrior who could not be out-fought by his contemporaries, but was killed by a nosebleed on his wedding night. (The nosebleed is believed to be symptomatic of a different cause of death -- an aneurism, possibly -- but the proof of what is pretty hard to come by almost two thousand years after-the-fact. Besides, given Japanese cultural folklore about virgins getting nosebleeds upon the sight of a naked girl, him dying of a nosebleed alone on his wedding night is quite amusing... although somehow I doubt he was a virgin at that point) People of Attila's notoriety don't die in their prime by something like a nosebleed, but he did. People like Zetsu don't die as a result of a simple kunai thrown by the equivalent of a genin... but he did.

* * *

Chapter 4

"Hello, sister," Gaara said, bowing his head before Temari at the main diplomatic gate to Konoha. She had been waiting outside for him, and he was glad -- there were things he definitely wanted to know before setting foot inside that village. "How are you fairing?"

"Well enough," she said dryly. "I hope the event today doesn't signal my recall to Sand. I have unfinished business here with a certain ninja I happen to be living with..."

"You have done well as ambassador for our village these past few years," Gaara replied. "I am aware of the difficulties you have had maintaining a relationship with someone from another village. The records in Sand mention others I would rather hope you never have to face. That we are at peace with Konoha allows you the luxury of indulging without encountering the worst of these problems, but I cannot promise you that your appointment as ambassador will last a lifetime."

Temari cocked her head at him, confused. "Which means?"

"I am not replacing you now, but I may need to do so in the future," Gaara elaborated. "Which means you might want to consider taking pre-emptive measures in order to ensure that a reassignment won't seperate you. In other words... you might want to consider accepting Shikamaru-san's marriage proposal."

Temari blushed. "I think I'll hold off on that until it becomes a time for desperate measures," she sighed. "I do love the boy, but he is so... so... _troublesome_. Argh -- he's got _me _saying it!"

Gaara's lips twitched slightly -- which anyone who knew him would realize that he was mentally rolling around on the floor with laughter. "Indeed. Well, I hardly suspect you intercepted our entourage outside of the village just to show me how much you've become like Shikamaru-san. So, what news are you bringing?"

"A simple report on the situation," she replied. "When I relayed to you the hokage's invitation two days ago, a major battle had been fought in the streets of Konoha between the Hyuuga reactionary faction and the recent arrivals from Blossom. In my accompanying message, I explained how we feared future battles, especially as the decision had been made to spare the life of the Hyuuga matriarch who was the cause of much of the fighting."

Gaara nodded. "Your Shikamaru-san's accompanying analysis -- which I am sure he censored before giving to you, as you know his leaks are all 'approved' by the hokage, but was comprehensive nonetheless -- explained how the fear was if she were killed in a battle with those 'outside of the clan,' Hiashi's moderate faction would be forced into 'avenging' her death, spreading the battle across Konoha -- especially as he has larger numbers, and many more allies among the other clans. It was not so much that they wanted her to live, but that the one to kill her would have to be another Hyuuga or else civil war really would break out, and would not be limited to just a small part of the Hyuuga clan against the whole village. Furthermore, it gave Tsunade-sama a perfect excuse to ramrod this proposal she intends to make through Konoha's... possibly reluctant council. Yet that left this Hyuuga faction alive and, outside of those killed in the action itself, apparently unharmed for what amounted to a defiance of the hokage's direct orders to refrain from combat and an attempted murder of her own daughter."

"Correct. So far, there has been no additional combat -- not only were the reactionaries dealt significant losses in the battle, but the Hokage has placed overt surveillance around her portion of the Hyuuga compound. People are now coming to realize that Hyuuga-san will not be getting away with this entirely without retribution, as there is obviously something building in that regard, but the question of 'what' is on everyone's minds. Furthermore, the Blossom ninja are once again being sequestered, never having had the chance to really visit any of their homes or the other clans... outside of the Akimichi clan, where the baby who was involved in the incident had been taken for safe-keeping. It seems apparent that the battle has changed the focus of Hyuuga-san's attention from Hinata-san's faction to these Blossom ninja, but they are being kept out of her reach, and so peace is being maintained that way. They cannot remain besieged inside the Administration building forever, though, and the tension is largely over what will happen when they are permitted out of doors again. I expect that time to be soon -- they are getting quite restless over there, and after the battle their families are even mor anxious to see them."

"Have_ you_ been permitted to see them?" Gaara asked, picking up on something in her voice. "Or is this another 'leak' from Shikamaru?

"Yes to both, in a sense. I've seen them, but only in the role of Shikamaru's significant other. I was warned that any attempt to 'talk shop' would get my visitation priviledges revokes... and our 'overt source' in the hokage's administration would be shut off for a time." Temari sighed. "Maybe I would have tried something if Shikamaru had been getting on my nerves lately, just to get a break from him for a while, but he's been... fairly good, recently. It wasn't worth it for me, at any rate."

"Just as well," Gaara replied. "It is enough that you were able to guage their general mood. So, we must be careful not to step on any toes... on any side."

* * *

Tsunade stood in front of the leaders of no fewer then four other ninja villages -- five, if you counted Kakashi as the leader of Blossom. She was preparing to make a major speech that night, and there were only a few people who knew what the contents of that speech would be... and all of them were in this waiting room with her. She had the Raikage (who had just arrived), the Kazekage (who had been the first to arrive, almost three days before), the Jounin-oyabun of Grass, the Jounin-oyabun of Rainbow, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Shikamaru with Temari as a constant presence on his side, and Anko, all present and ready to support her. The question was more could she trust them to play thier parts rather then could she see this plan through to the end. With most of them, she was fairly confident, but a couple people still seemed a bit shaky. There was Anko, who continued to be convinced that she was more of a detriment to this cause then a functional ally, and there was the jounin-oyabun of the Grass -- an older man just out of retirement to take the reins of his country following the death of their previous leader. Grass had been ill treated by Blossom, and she was a bit surprised that they had agreed to come. Insisted on it, in fact -- they had not been invited, but somehow found out about her plans anyway and insisted on coming to show their support. It was rather odd, and she didn't trust him... but the game of diplomacy made it impossible to refuse him. The only check she had on his betrayal was that, while it would certainly weaken her rule over Konoha, he would forever after be shunned by the leaders of every other ninja nation -- even the ones who would be his natural allies and her natural enemies. A pretty powerful check, but risky nonetheless.

"Last chance to pull out," Tsunade called. "That you came to show your support at all will be remembered kindly, of course, but if there is any doubt in your minds as to whether you should support me in this I ask that you withdraw now." She was giving the Grass leader a chance to leave, practically begging him to take it, but he would not. The only person she didn't want to leave, however, chose to take that opening.

"I... don't think this is a good idea," Anko said, shaking her head. "I will cause more harm then good if I go out there and make my particular announcement. I withdraw."

There was a slight tightening around the hokage's eyes as she looked at the other woman. In her mind, Anko was showing not prudence as she claimed, but cowardice... but there was little she could do about it. Apparently, Sakura was at wits end about it, herself, as keeping the secrets of this woman from Naruto ate away at the souls of all who knew... Tsunade included. Still, she had made the offer, and for the same reason that the jounin-oyabun of Grass was unlikely to betray her, Tsunade was unable to rescind it. "Very well," she sighed. "Then go join the others from Blossom, but make certain not to say anything about this announcement to anyone. I suppose, at this point, it won't matter, but I'd still rather not give any advanced warning. Anyone else?"

Anko left the room as she waited for someone to reply -- as she had almost hoped the Grass leader would do. There was no reply, however, before someone came knocking on the door to the waiting room. "Everyone is in their places," a low ranking administrative ninja said through it. "We're just waiting for you, hokage-sama."

She took a deep breath, bracing herself for what she knew would be a rather... uncomfortable reaction to her planned speech. "Well, then," she said, gesturing for the others to stand and follow her. "Let's get on with it."

* * *

Just about every citizen of Konoha, ninja and civilian. had gathered in what might be called the 'town square' after the call came out from the Hokage's Public Affairs Office. A call such as this one was very unusual -- and hadn't been done since she had sworn her oath of office several years before. Fifteen years before that was the call announcing the induction of the Fourth as the new Hokage. And the time before that... well, few people were still alive from that time, when the First and Second had brought forth a twelve year old boy to be designated as the heir to the title, shortly before leaving for their last battle together, in what would now be designated a Class S-S guaranteed suicide mission.

It seemed unlikely to the general public that the Fifth was retiring just yet. After all, she was still young (or at least she looked young -- her outward appearance was a bit misleading) and in good health, and to the best of everyone's knowledge there were no outside threats on her life save from the Sound... and so few people had seen evidence of the Sound's activities in recent years that it was hard to remember they were a threat any more. Which made this gathering all the more curious. The presence of two other kages and several other important foriegn figures behind her seemed rather odd, as well -- never before had such a gathering brought forth any outsiders of such significance. The occasional ambassador, sure, but few of a rank higher then that. The ambassador to the Sand was present, as well -- altough apparently more as the date of the hokage's assistant then as an official representative... although that hardly mattered, considering the kazekage himself was in attendance as well. Other ambassadors were present as well -- from Mist, and Rock, and a large number of the smaller powers -- but not on the stage with the hokage. Something specific involving these four powers was going on, most suspected, and the speculation as to what had been great.

One of the more common rumors going around was that this was a precursor to some sort of war... a war involving an alliance between all five powers. There weren't many options as to who that war would be against -- the only power great enough to make the combined forces of Konoha, Sand, several minor powers, and even _Cloud_ to work together would be the Rock... who just might be powerful enough to fight all of the other four kage-level nations on its own, by now, according to those who had dealings with them. Of course, there was also the possibility of the war being against the Sound, who... well, they were _already_ at war with, so this level of meeting seemed a bit redundant for any kind of announcement on that front. They shouldn't need three of the greater powers plus some more help to fight the Sound, anyway. And then there was the Mist -- they had been rather quiet, lately, and in fact preferred to stay out of the world at large since actually losing a war to one of the minor powers along the coast -- the village of Sea Foam, which had in turn been wiped out by the Rain when they tried to capitalize on their success by striking against their neighbors -- but fighting them could be... problematic, considering they were in an island nation and likely had the best naval force in the world, better then what could be accessed by every other ninja power combined most likely. It didn't grant them enough of an advantage to be the effective offensive superpower their status as a 'kage-level nation' implied, but it did give them the defensive strength to withstand just about any attack from outside. Many years before, the Rock had forced them into a conditional surrender by employing a massive aerial assault using summoned birds, but in truth even that was more of a stalemate then a victory for either side. The end result was the Mist agreeing to a non-aggression treaty, and to refrain from taking on any employment inside the Rock's sphere of influence. Perhaps there was some movement underfoot to wipe out the Mist?

A merging of villages, perhaps. It had happened a time or two before -- Konoha itself was initially formed by the merging of no less then four different villages -- and the significantly improved relations with Sand since their brief spat of warfare were such that the two nations practically kept no secrets from each other. The betrothal of a promising scion of the Nara clan (who just happened to also be the hokage's assistant) and the sister of the Kazekage could well be a political marriage to cement the deal. A few people were well aware of the true nature of the relationship between Shikamaru and Temari, however, and strongly doubted that they would ever get married (they'd remain lovers for the rest of their lives, most thought, but both seemed too stubborn to ever make it official), much less allow that marriage to be used for purely political reasons. And, even if that were the case, what were the representatives from the Grass and Rainbow villages doing on the stage as well?

In general, no one really felt confident that any of their potential predictions were correct, which made everyone all the more anxious to hear what was to be said. Was it to be a new hokage, a war, a joining of villages, or... something else?

Finally, after the hokage had been standing up their surveying the crowd for entirely too long, the speech began. "Ladies, gentlemen, and other," she began. In most areas, that would be considered a rather bizarre, insulting, or humorous opening... but, in a ninja village as diverse as Konoha, there were a few beings which qualified as 'other.' Mostly summoned animals of those varieties of lizards and amphibians which changed sexes at various stages of their lives, of course, or neutered dogs adopted by the Inuzuka clan, but... well, sometimes, the Aburame clan would produce a few sexless 'drones' thanks to their insectoid heritage. Yet another reason few outsiders married into that particular clan. "I think the time has come for us to publically admit to a problem that has come into our midst, and to do something about it. For years now, a certain clan inside Konoha has been experiencing a great deal of internal strife. Normally, we have a policy of allowing clans to keep the business of their clan private. However, in this case, this particular clan is fracturing, and each part of the fracture is allying itself with other clans... which is splitting the rest of Konoha apart at the seams.

"Five days ago, this split ruptured when members of one faction attempted to assassinate a neutral party, dragging more then a dozen other ninja into close combat against them. This battle resulted in multiple deaths, and nearly cost the life of a newborn baby. I barely arrived in time to prevent further deaths... and I won't say that I would be capable of doing so if a similar situation erupted in the future." That she said staring straight into the eyes of the Hyuuga matriarch, obviously as a warning -- her one and only warning -- that she would not be saved if she tried something like that again. "I cannot handle this alone, and so I have decided to get some help."

She smiled mentally, and despite the stoic demeaner she had developed over the years for dealing with public affairs she couldn't keep her lips from twitching a bit in satisfaction. That caused a bit of a stir -- she knew that people would be thinking that she was bringing in outside ninja like the Sand and the Cloud to deal with the problem. How wrong they were. "I have decided to go into Konoha's history for a solution. I went and found the records of the First and Second Hokage -- both of whom are close relations of mine, as you may recall, and left me their personal records -- so see what they did... for, when Konoha adopted the kage system, we were in shambles. Externally, wars were brewing with the Rock, the Cloud, the Mist, and several other countries. Internally, clans were fighting for dominance so fiercely it wasn't unexpected to find that a full scale battle -- much like the one which took place five days ago -- had taken place on the streets every other day. So, the First brought in the Second... to share the powers of the Hokageship. The First would deal with the external situation, and the Second would deal with the internal one.

"By the time they had nominated the Third to be hokage, some fourty years later, things had settled down to the point that only one Hokage was needed. Internally, things were fine, and externally, the wars seemed to be ending. The fell in the final battle of the Bloody Mist war, and there was relative peace following their deaths for almost twenty years. However, during that peace, we slowly developed the roots of more trouble at home -- traitors such as Orochimaru began laying the groundwork for an uprising, the Uchiha clan started crumbling inside with no-one realizing it, allowing for Itachi to destroy his entire clan in one night. Things got worse, and the Third didn't know it... because he believed the internal situation was stable enough, and only the external situations were serious. The war with Rock took most of the rest of his attention, and so forces inside of Konoha allowed for us to be corrupted from the inside, and Orochimaru to leave Konoha... and eventually to start a new ninja village, one which we are currently at war with.

"All of this is history. The Third was a great leader for us, as was the Fourth during his short reign... but Konoha has been in decline since the deaths of the First and Second because the job of Hokage is too much for one person. Therefore, I am going to divide my powers, and create a second Hokage's slot, and bring in the Sixth before I retire. I will continue to deal with external threats, but the Sixth will take from me the challenge of managing the internal situation, such as our recent clan problems... and, hopefully, Konoha will regain its proper place once more. When I retire -- likely five years from now -- the Sixth will take my job and bring in a Seventh, and so on, and so forth. Normally, candidates are run through the council before they are announced publically... but in this situation, I do not trust our own council. They have been too badly divided by these internal conflicts, themselves, and would accept no candidate who could fix the problem without some pressure from outside of the council. And so I name the Sixth now, to you, in the hopes that you the people of Konoha can pressure the Council to do the right thing."

That caused a stir even in the Blossom crowd. "Who do you think it will be?" Naruto asked Sakura, trying to whisper but failing as he had to talk over the ambient noise of the crowd.

She looked at him strangely. "Isn't it you? I thought..."

"Me?" Naruto replied, startled. "She hasn't talked to me about it at all! And it wouldn't make any sense to make me hokage. I'm going to become hokage one day -- you can count on that! -- but the point is to end the civil strife, not to cause more of it. I think... well, you know what most people around here think about me."

Over time, the knowledge that Naruto was a jinchuuriki for the kyuubi had seeped into the populace of just about everyone in the village of Blossom... and, shockingly, no-one cared. They all knew him as Naruto, first and foremost, and whatever odd connection he may have with a greater demon of legend seemed... unimportant. In Konoha, however, Sakura knew that most of the older generations wouldn't accept him. They knew him as kyuubi first, and Naruto... never, in many cases. He did have a point... but then again, Tsunade had told Sakura that she would nominate Naruto to be hokage some day -- he'd won the right to the title back when they first met.

"But, Naruto--"

"I'm guessing Kakashi-sensei, myself," he mused, not hearing her over the crowd noise. "He qualifies. He's got more than a thousand techniques. He's well respected -- a legend of his generation, from what I can tell. And... he has experience running a village."

Sakura blinked at Naruto -- everything he mentioned could be applied to him, but he didn't seem to realize it from what he was saying. "You do, too, you know."

"Well, yeah," Naruto admitted. "But I've only had a few months of real experience, and Kakashi-sensei has a few years. He should get it -- I've long thought that Blossom should become the training grounds for the hokage, and he's been running Blossom long enough." He grinned. "Which is why I want to be named the new jounin-oyabun of Blossom."

Sakura paused to consider that, and realized that Tsunade's promise would work that way, as well. Putting Naruto into a position that became a de facto 'Hokage Training' spot would be a good way of ensuring that he would succeed, and actually become the hokage some day as he had promised. And... perhaps he was even right about his nomination as hokage dividing Konoha even more, which wouldn't be a good thing at all. "Well, I guess we have put down a few roots in that town, haven't we? I guess being a 'jounin-oyabun' isn't too bad, considering."

Before they could speculate further, Tsunade continued. "The candidate I am thinking of shouldn't need any training. He has had experience running a village, before, after all."

Naruto nudged Sakura. "See? Who but Kakashi-sensei has experience running a village?"

"He is fully qualified for other reasons, as well. Like every other hokage in the past, he has learned over a thousand techniques," Tsunade added. "He has learned how to fight from some of our village's greatest ninja. And while they are not all remembered with the greatest esteem, he is decended from some of our greatest heroes. Not everyone likes him, right now, but I am certain that once you all get to know the real him he will show you that you have nothing to worry about."

Naruto nodded. "See? I remember the story about Kakashi-sensei's father, and how he was supposedly 'disgraced' because he tried to save his teammates despite really being a great hero and all. I haven't heard anything about my clan, before, so I doubt my parents were anyone important. And Kakashi-sensei has a bad reputation, now, because of his deep cover assignment, but I'm sure people will get to know the real him again and realize he's a pretty good guy. Can't be me -- people are too scared of me right now for that to work -- but she sounds just like she's talking about Kakashi-sensei, doesn't she?"

Sakura gaped at him. She noticed the stone sculpture of the Fourth in the background, and how Naruto's current haircut matched the former hokage's perfectly. The resemblence was uncanny... and she would have known right away, even if Anko hadn't told her. His mother did show up on him on occasion -- his nose, perhaps, and definitely his smile -- and the kyuubi contributed the 'birthmarks' on his cheeks, but other than that, he was the spitting image of his father. "Naruto-kun... about your parents. Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, confused. "What does a mirror have--"

"So, I nominate as the Sixth Hokage the son of the Fourth -- Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto eyes widened as just about everyone -- even his friends -- went silent in astonishment. His voice broke that silence. "What!"

* * *

Notes: I know I took forever to finally finish this thing (it's been sitting almost 90 percent complete for almost two weeks, untouched). Sadly, this chapter's release doesn't signal a return to earlier production rates. Without going into details, I have way too much real life work to deal with at the moment, thanks partially -- but not completely -- to having been sick for over a week and needing to catch up with the back work. I'm still going to be working on this, but... if I get more than a few minutes a day to work on this over the next month or two, I'll be lucky. But we'll see...

Next Chapter: Naruto surprises Tsunade when he complains about being made hokage. Tenten confronts Lee about his drinking problem. Sakura's mother shows up in Konoha with a piece of advice.


	65. V4 Chapter 5

Volume 4

Chapter 5

Tsunade's announcement had not been well recieved, but she had been prepared for that. As the crowd muttered against her angrilly, Gaara and the other village leaders stepped forward to present their testimony as to Naruto's fitness for leadership. Gaara on how he became a leader because of Naruto, Kakashi on how well Naruto ran Blossom in his absence, the Raikage on how much loyalty he witnessed displayed to him, and the leaders of Rainbow and Grass... on how he fought for his allies, and how he treated his enemies. The case for making Naruto the Sixth was put before the people, and it was only a matter of time until their considerations started getting taken into account.

And then, Tsunade retreated to her office. It would take the public some time to get over her announcement, but she intended to ram the issue through the council with every resource she had available. She already had Shikamaru and Jiraiya out, working together in order to get as accurate a poll as possible to determine just where it was she would need to push, and she had been pulling out the files of everyone who owed her a favor since she heard Naruto was coming back. Truth be told, she had been planning on doing this for some time, after all, and a lot of the preparation had already been done... but because of Naruto's injury, he had arrived back a little sooner then expected -- not much sooner, though. The orders recalling them had already been written out in draft form, and she probably would have sent them out shortly anyway. Kakashi's mission had been winding down, after all, and the reports she'd been given lead her to believe it was only a matter of months before it was complete... but, it seemed, things ended sooner then expected. And so, she had most of the work done, already... and she had a pretty good idea as to how things were going to turn out.

It was no surprise to her, then, that Naruto burst into her office -- Sakura trailing behind him -- as soon as he possibly could have gotten past her guards without killing them. It was a bit of a surprise, however, that he looked... slightly angry, and not the confused happiness she expected.

"What the fuck are you thinking, you old hag?" he snapped without preamble, startling her.

Her eye twitched slightly at the way he addressed him, but she supposed it didn't matter that he was several years older then the last time they had talked together -- he would always be the same Naruto. And Naruto always, always, _always_ called her an 'old hag,' regardless of whether the conversation was serious or silly. It was, in a sense, a pet name for her... much as he still called Jiraiya 'Ero-sennin' and likely would still call Lee 'Fuzzy Eyebrows.' Still, as angry as he was, it sounded a lot more vicious then usual. And she had no idea why he could possibly be angry for _this._

"I'm thinking," she replied cautiously, trying both to soothe him and rein in her own temper. "That we needed a second hokage for just the reasons I said during the assembly. And I'm thinking I promised you the job of hokage a few years ago, and should probably make good on that promise."

"I want to be better then the hokage," Naruto replied evenly. "Which means I don't want to hurt Konoha in the process of getting the job! You're right, you do need a new hokage... but it shouldn't be me. It should be Kakashi-sensei, and I would move into his slot in Blossom. What we need is a hokage who people would get behind and respect, and not someone who will just provoke a fight... and I'm still not exactly the most favorite person of most people here. My becoming hokage could very well start that civil war you've been trying to avoid, regardless of what I do or how I act."

Tsunade smirked half-heartedly. "Yeah, I know. It's a bit of a gamble, isn't it? And, well, my track record for gambling isn't very good. Hasn't been since, well..." She glanced at the necklace he still wore that she had given him all those years before. "Since a certain family member of mine died. But I think it'll pan out."

"A gamble?" Naruto snapped heatedly. "The odds are so long that this _won't_ result in a civil war that it isn't a gamble at all!"

"I thought the same thing when I bet you that you couldn't learn the rasengan in a week," Tsunade replied calmly, not allowing his emotional outbursts to visibly phase her. "But I learned then that you can beat impossible odds."

Naruto flushed for a moment, embarrassed at the praise and thrown by example. "But--"

"The thing you don't understand," Tsunade continued, "Is that I don't think there's really anything that can be done right now. The situation with the Hyuuga is impossible -- I can sit and do nothing while the Hyuuga tear themselves and Konoha apart, or I can confront them and start a clan war the likes of which haven't been seen since Konoha's founding. Either way, it seems, civil war seems inevitable. So, I figured I'd bring in someone who I knew had already done one impossible thing in his lifetime, and see if he can't repeat the experience."

He grimmaced. "Is it really that bad?"

"I'm afraid so," Tsunade sighed. "The reports I've been sending to Blossom -- which I know you've read -- were intentionally vague on a lot of this stuff, and left out much more, but the result is that the situation has become entirely untenable. It has also been stagnating for the past couple of years, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before something sparked it off... and your return has been that spark."

"So... what really is the situation, then?" Naruto asked.

"Pretty bad," Tsunade explained. "The three factions have no route of communication with each other. The matriarch's faction is taking a position with no room for compromise, and Hinata's faction is branding the patriarch's positions as if they were hers. Just about every major clan except for the Aburame have allied themselves to some extent with one side or another... although even the Aburame are sympathetic to the matriarch's position, and were it not for Shino taking a decidedly pro-Hinata stance would probably declare for it. And, as you have already seen, at least one faction is willing to start open fighting on the street over this conflict.

"Furthermore, there are other things going on outside of these internal struggles. There is the Sound, which appears to be on the move again... although we have no idea what it is, precisely, they are doing. Then there is the Rock, which has been concentrating power for years, now, with no known goal in mind. They have grown faster in the past five years then all the other major ninja powers combined, and their leader is rumored to be one of the most powerful ninja ever born... if not the most powerful.

"Finally... there are other things going -- more personal than that, I suppose, but important nonetheless. You might have noticed a significant decline in Jiraiya's performance over the past few years. There's a pretty big reason for that, and that has to do with me. I won't go into details -- like I said, it is somewhat personal -- but he has been helping me deal with a certain problem for years, now, and unless things change he'll be rendered utterly useless as a ninja. By delegating some of the stresses of being Hokage into your lap, I will be able to release him of this burden, which should -- in time -- restore him to a functional level, at least."

Naruto nodded. "And picking me over Kakashi-sensei?"

"You, Naruto-kun, depending on how you decide to play your new role, will be able to help by becoming one of two things," Tsunade explained. "The first is, you could become a lightning rod. People hate you because of the kyuubi -- not the youth, for the most part, but the clan leadership. By nominating you to become hokage, I am giving each clan leader a common enemy to target. The other is, while the adult leadership is against you, pretty much the entire youth of this country has learned to -- at the very least -- respect you. If the youth splits from the adults, then the adults lose their power... and without powerful 'adult' leadership, most of the troubles caused by 'traditionalists' in various clans will... disappear. I leave it in your hands how to proceed."

Naruto nodded slowly. "I guess I can see that," he said. "I guess I understand why you would name me hokage, if that is your plan. But... but I don't want to become hokage by being a fraud!"

Tsunade looked flabbergasted at that comment. "A fraud? What are you talking about, a fraud?"

"What's all that crap about me being the son of the Fourth?" Naruto sputtered. "Who do you expect to believe that?"

Tsunade glanced over his shoulder at Sakura, who looked just as nonplussed as she felt. "Um, Naruto-kun... that's the truth."

His eyes widened before he sputtered in denial, "But... but that's not possible! It's not! I... I would know! Someone would have said something! There'd be clues!"

"There _are_ clues," Tsunade snorted. "Just look in the mirror, and then look at a picture of the Fourth. Trust me, it's pretty obvious to anyone who is willing to see it."

"He wasn't married," Naruto continued desperately. "So... so he couldn't have been my father."

"Naruto-kun," Sakura began, laughing slightly. "We aren't married, yet... and if I wanted to I'd have been able to make you a father several times over, already. And while the Fourth wasn't married, I happen to know that's only because the Council disliked his choice of bride."

He spun on her. "So... so you know who my mother is, too? Who is it? I... I have to know..."

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized her admission. "Oh... Naruto-kun. I... I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."

"You can't _tell _me?" he snapped, almost enraged. "But... but why not?"

Sakura looked down, pained. She didn't want to keep this secret from him, but she had no choice. She hated what Anko was making her do to him. "Remember how you couldn't tell me about Kakashi for all those years?"

Naruto almost yelled at her for bringing up something irrelevant, but then reconsidered. Maybe there was a point she had to make. "What about it?"

"I told you then, I had secrets I hated keeping from you," Sakura reminded him. "It was a secret that wasn't mine to tell, and in the wrong hands it could be very dangerous to you. The person whose secret it is believes that you would be in danger of losing the ability to fulfill your dreams if anyone knew, and so I had to promise to keep it a secret even from you without their permission. I... I think you should know, but I'm not allowed to say."

Naruto nodded slowly, then turned towards the hokage. "Do... do you know who this is?"

Tsunade nodded. "I do, although I found out about it myself less then a month ago. I agree with Sakura -- you should know, but we shouldn't be the ones to tell you."

Naruto sighed, his face down so that niether person could see his expression. "I... see. Can I at least know... is she still alive?"

Sakura winced, but felt obliged to give him some sort of answer. "Who do you think is making us keep this secret from you, love? Who do you think is the only person whose word could restrain me from telling you?"

"So, yes, she is alive. Well, I suppose I can't really blame you for keeping this secret from me, considering she is the one making you keep it," Naruto sighed. He glanced over at Sakura, then grinned slightly. "She isn't your mother, is she? Because that would put a whole new twist on our relationship, you know..."

Sakura laughed slightly, glad to see that he wasn't going to hold a grudge over this secret... at least, not one he'd allow to slip passed his mask. "Trust me, Naruto-kun, there are certain things we do together I'd never allow if that were the case."

He grinned back, winking to let her know she was forgiven, before turning to the hokage once more. "Well, I'll still need to be voted in by the council. I suppose this means I'll need to do a little campaigning, huh?"

Tsunade was almost as pleased as Sakura to see that he was taking their secret so well. She was also glad he seemed to be coming around to the idea of being hokage... something she never thought she'd have to convince him to become. "At this point, there is no way the council will refuse your induction. The announcement was too public, and they know there is no way they could get away with voting you down. Especially after the Raikage, the Kazekage, and the heads of several other ninja villages stood up and endorsed you. To defy me is one thing, but to defy three kage and a number of jounin-oyabun would ruin them, and they know it."

Naruto grinned darkly. "Hm. Maybe. But I think I'll go and talk to the voting members of the council, anyway. Starting with, say, Hyuuga Hiashi."

Both women looked rather alarmed at that. "Naruto-kun, I'm not sure that you should do that," Sakura exclaimed. "It's not safe!"

"I don't know what he thinks of you, Naruto," Tsunade said at the same time, talking over Sakura. "But I'm pretty sure there would be a lot of people who would take that as you picking a side -- which isn't a good idea!"

"Oh, I'll probably visit Hinata-chan, too," Naruto replied, shrugging. "But I've already had a chat with Hyuuga-sama, so it's only fair I look in on the other faction heads. Don't worry -- I won't go alone."

Sakura relaxed slightly. "Good. We could take Moegi and Ko--"

"I think I'll take Hanabi-chan, Inari, Adaha, and Umiko with me," Naruto continued. "That'd be enough protection."

The volume of the complaints Tsunade and Sakura sent flying his way after that damaged his hearing enough to require kyuubi to spend some time healing his ears.

* * *

Tenten didn't even bother to settle into her new home before setting out after Lee. Neji's suggestion that he was becoming a lush had certainly sparked things off for her, and she suddenly felt a desperate need to talk with him about his drinking problem. She found her wayward teammate over at his new apartment, unpacking his things with his front door wide open. He had chosen to take one of the rent-free single bed apartments Blossom allowed its ninja, but even so the few things he owned weren't enough to keep the place from seeming bare. Much to her chagrin, however, the one part of Lee's belongings which were easily visible were the three giant crates full of sake bottles. Cheap sake -- rotgut, really -- but sake nonetheless. From what Tenten could tell, much of Lee's salary went into buying liquor nowadays, and she wasn't too happy about it.

"Lee-kun," she called from his doorway. "Can I come in?"

He seemed startled at first, but then nodded. "Come on in, Tenten," he replied familiarly, though he seemed a bit distracted.

The girl noticed him hiding something underneath the cushions of his couch as she walked in and was mildly surprised. She had no idea what it was the boy was hiding, but had a funny feeling it was some sort of pornographic material. She once caught her father with a copy of Icha Icha Paradise one evening, and he acted exactly the same way Lee was now. _Didn't think the boy was into skin magazines, though, or anything else like that, for that matter,_ Tenten mused. _How odd. Maybe it's something else, after all... but what could it be?_

"Do you need any help unpacking?" she offered.

"I'm pretty much done," Lee answered evasively, moving with his lightning speed to sit over what Tenten suspected was his stash of porn. "Is that the only reason you stopped by?"

She shook her head. "Actually, I wanted to talk with you about something. Care to go out to dinner with me?"

"Not tonight," Lee replied, shaking his head regretfully. "I've, um, got something I have to do."

Tenten smiled. _Oh,_ she thought, _'something you have to do,' huh? I can just imagine, with you having had that stuff out! So, what kind of porn turns you on, Lee-kun?_ Suddenly, a rather devious plan to embarrass him (in a friendly way, of course) came to mind. Embarrassing Lee was usually a very fun thing to do, especially since he took after Gai as his role-model. The over-reactions they had were very amusing -- and sometimes resulted in some rather silly training technique being developed.

"And just what is it you have to do, Lee-kun?" she asked.

"Uh, well, I have to unpack, and--"

"I thought you said you were done unpacking," Tenten protested. It was funny -- she couldn't remember Lee ever lying to her before, even about something silly like that, and it bothered her that he did.

"Um, well, I'm, uh," Lee fumbled, glancing around the room before inspiration struck. "I am, but my sake needs to be put away, still. I have to go buy a wine rack for it, first, though."

That reminded Tenten about why she was here, but she shunted that away -- embarrassing him was more important right now. "Oh, I would love some sake. Could you get me a bottle? I'll buy you a new one to replace it tomorrow."

Lee was on his feet like lightning. "Of course, Tenten! I'll get you a bottle right away!"

Tenten surreptitiously shown a mirror right in his eyes, blinding him as he stood up and causing him to pitch forward. Expecting that, she was able to rush over to him before he recovered. "Are you alright?" she asked, feigning concern.

He winced in pain, rubbing his forarm where he had fallen, but pasted a smile on his face regardless. "Oh, I'm okay, Tenten! You know me, I do worse to myself training every day!"

Tenten sat on the particular cushion Lee had been using to hide whatever it was he was hiding from her. "Well, if you're sure you're okay, I could really use that sake."

"Coming right up!" Lee crowed enthusiastically.

The moment he turned his back, Tenten reached under the cushion and pulled the papers he had been looking at out. "Hey, is this what I think it is?" Tenten asked luridly. Lee glanced over at her, and paled as soon as he saw what it was she was looking at. Tenten paled, herself, as she read through them. "I... I don't think it is."

"Probably not," Lee admitted, slowly taking a seat on the ground to prevent falling in shame. He didn't want anyone to know about that, not even his teammates... Especially not Gai. Not until he knew what he was going to do about it.

"Your injuries are coming back?" Tenten snapped, referring to the medical report she had in her hand -- a medical report done by civilian doctors in a town well outside of Konoha or any of its affiliated villages. "'Degenerating bones along wrist and ankle.' 'Severe muscular atrophy.' 'Breakdown of nervous system in fingers and toes.' Lee-kun... why haven't you mentioned this to anyone?"

"Promise me you won't say anything," Lee said softly. "I... I don't want to go back to what I feared I would become when I had those injuries the first time. I want to remain a ninja as long as I can. I would die to remain a ninja. Please..."

"You're afraid of being forced to retire?" Tenten whispered, understanding. "But, Lee-kun, if this report is right, it is only a matter of time--"

"The report is right about my current status," Lee answered. "Except that's just an old preliminary report. After careful studies and tests, I found that my old injuries only return when I use my Lotus techniques. As long as I avoid using them, well, I'll be okay. I'll probably have arthritis as an old man, but I'll be okay."

Tenten hesitated. She wasn't quite sure how to put what she wanted to say delicately. "Lee-kun... without your Lotus techniques, what can you do as a ninja? I mean, that's pretty important, wouldn't you think?"

"I've got one thing I can still do," Lee sighed. "Although I know you, and Gai-sensei, and Neji all think it's just as self-destructive as using the Lotus..."

"Your drunken fist," Tenten realized. "That's why you've been, to quote Neji, 'becoming a lush,' isn't it? You can't fight without it, any more..."

"I can fight without it," Lee replied, determination filling his voice before reality tempered it. "But... not against someone with the skills of your average ninja. I can still throw shuriken with the best of them, and my normal speed and strength isn't bad. I can still train my genin in taijutsu and expect them to improve. I can still make plans -- although I admit you and Neji are both better at it then I am. And, when the situation gets bad, I can fall back on that. It isn't as effective as my Lotus techniques would be, but it's enough." He paused. "So, please, Tenten... don't tell anyone."

Tenten sighed. "Lee-kun... we've really got to deal with this. Shizune might be able to recommend a treatment that--"

"No! Please, Shizune-sama couldn't do anything. Tsunade-sama might be able to, but she's already tried to make me leave behind being a ninja once -- I don't trust her to let me go a second time." He paused. "I was hoping that Sakura-chan would be able to help, but she's not here right now, and it sounds as if she's got problems of her own..."

Tenten hesitated. "If you promise that you'll see Sakura-chan as soon as possible, I suppose... I suppose I can keep your secret. For a little while, at least -- but if I notice this getting worse, I'm going to have to mention it to someone."

"If you say so," Lee replied, looking down. He always felt a little depressed when Tenten scolded him.

"And I'm going to be stopping by every day we're not on a mission to check on you," she continued. "I am not going to let you pretend you're better then you are, Lee-kun. I'm going to be checking on you every day!"

Lee flinched. An angry Tenten was a formidible person to deal with, and she sounded borderline angry right there. "Ah, right, Tenten."

"Now, to start with... I want to see the injuries."

His eyes widened. "Tenten?" he replied.

"Show them to me," she snapped. "I want to know what they're like now, so I can see if they're getting worse later. I may not be a medical ninja, but these injuries sound like there'll be some visible bruising, at least. Let me see it."

"Ah, okay, Tenten..."

"And quit acting like such a wimp!" she ordered. "Stop flinching when I'm talking to you, got it?"

"Yes, Tenten."

"I said stop flinching, not to flinch some more!"

"But--"

"What did I just say!"

Lee sighed and gave up. Well, at least now he could share his secret with someone... even if that person was getting a bit scary about it.

* * *

"Haruno-san," Neji said, greeting the woman at the gates to Blossom. She was on her way out, much to his surprise, without her husband... but with her husband's very large merchant cart. "You seem to be going off for an extended journey, judging by how many supplies you're taking."

"Me?" she laughed. "No, this is for my daughter and Naruto. I packed up their apartment for them."

That bit of news took Neji by surprise. "You packed their apartment? Why?"

"Haven't you heard?" Haruno asked, leading the mule-drawn cart through the gates. "Naruto's been designated the Sixth Hokage. He'll be taking office as a Junior Hokage shortly, assuming the council approves him. My husband and I have decided to stay here, however -- we've built a good life here."

Neji just gaped, watching her leave. _So that was Tsunade's plan,_ he mused. Then he recalled his words to Naruto all those years ago, during their chuunin exam match. _Well, I guess he proved me wrong. I guess you don't have to be 'born' to be a hokage, after all._

* * *

Notes: Obviously, I'm back. Don't expect super-rapid updates, however, as I'm simultaneously working on several other projects in addition to this one. For all those asking where I was, well, I warned you I'd be taking a break. It was longer then I initially planned, but I'm able to work on this fanfic again, albeit not as much as before. I'm not going to bother going through and answering questions of the backload of replies -- I have given a few private review replies to some of those who left any sort of contact information, but general replies would take much too long. Yeah, I know this isn't the longest chapter I've ever written, it's still within the average.

Next Chapter: Naruto and his team meets with Hiashi.


	66. V4 Chapter 6

Volume 4

Author's Notes: To everyone who is shocked at the long absence, I will refer you to the author's notes in chapter one, where I make the SPECIFIC warning that I've been known to take more than a year between chapters, before. I'm afraid this chapter might be a bit disappointing after all that time, since it's not really anything 'special' for a chapter, but we'll see.

By the one, one of my biggest pet peeves in a story is when, after the story has been long established and the character pairings have been declared, the author decides to change the pairing. There are people who read fics exclusively of one pairing or another, and once you're some 50 pages or so into a fic it gets really frustrating if the fic changes from a pairing you love to a pairing you hate; it's too much like a bait and switch scam, no matter HOW good the fic is otherwise. Secondary pairings are one thing, especially since you rarely have people search for fics based on secondary pairing, but changing the primary pairing in mid-stream -- no matter how important to the story or how much your personal tastes have changed -- make me lose all respect for the author. I would rather they abandon the fic altogether than change the pairing of the fic mid-stream. To paraphrase Kishimoto, 'Authors who write pairings I don't like are writing trash, but authors who change pairings mid-stream are worse than trash.' (not that I REALLY think any authors who do that are trash, but I wanted to make it obvious what I was paraphrasing). I dislike it that much.

So, those five or six of you who decided to spend a week PMing me three or four times a day to change the pairing to NaruIno... not only will it never work with this story, especially not now, and not only do I not particularly like that pairing (at least, not without Sakura also involved; trio and harem fics are acceptable, and it isn't exactly my least favorite pairing, either), but I would NEVER change a pairing of a fic, especially this late into a story. And for those five and six of you (and you know who you are), you damn near killed my desire to continue writing this fic. Which may have been your real goal, after all, but I won't give in to that kind of tactic, either.

I may have lost some 'real' PMs and reviews during the above incident. My apologies, if so -- I know those wouldn't be the only messages and reviews I failed to reply to over the past year. I can only ask for forgiveness in that regard. I tried to reply to anyone who wasn't either rude or wasn't just asking 'gee, when are you updating again?' but I know I missed a few. This has been a crazy year.

* * *

Chapter 6

To say that Hyuuga Hiashi was a bit surprised would be something of an understatement. He had fully expected the new hokage-designate to come visit him soon -- after all, the Hyuuga were widely regarded, even with the current internal strife, as the most powerful clan in Konoha, and he was widely regarded as one of the most influential people on the Council. His vote would be crucial to Naruto's confirmation as Hokage. Hiashi would probably vote for Naruto, regardless -- he had been fairly impressed with the boy ever since his performance at the Chuunin exam all those years before, and had managed to overcome the instinctual bias he held for the kyuubi when considering the young man's character.

He was starting to wonder about that decision, though, as he saw just who it was that Naruto brought with him. "Just what is the meaning of this?" he asked, glaring.

Naruto bowed in a fit of pique. "Why, I'm simply making my rounds with the clan heads as the new hokage designate. Is there something wrong with that?"

Hiashi's lips tightened as he tried to keep his temper. He refused to look anywhere except at Naruto. "Not that. What is with bringing these... these... ahem. These _people_ with you?"

Sakura, who now understood just what Naruto's plan was, decided to play along. And to make a statement while she did. "I am his fiancee, and he intends to involve me in all of his affairs whenever possible."

"Not you!" Hiashi snapped, not understanding just why Naruto and Sakura were deliberately antagonizing him. "I mean _them!_"

Naruto made a show of glancing back at the others he had brought with them. Hanabi looked a bit nervous, but Inari, Adaha, and Umiko were all grinning impudently. "Oh, them. Well, I thought you might want to meet with your daughter and her lovers."

Hiashi flinched, but still kept his eyes on the young man who had been named the hokage-designate. "My daughter is a Hyuuga, and is not permitted to take lovers outside of our clan."

Naruto smirked. "Uh huh. Sure. And I'm certain you would have doomed her to a life of virginity had your clan been wiped out before she returned, right?"

"There was a young man I decided was acceptable in such a circumstance--"

"Who is right here," Naruto pointed out.

"--But only one. Hyuuga do not sleep around."

"She isn't sleeping around," Sakura pointed out helpfully. "She's quite loyal to those three, and I doubt will ever leave them."

Hiashi's mouth opened and closed several times, his anger rising. "Damn you. I was going to support you to the council, but you insult me like this?" he snarled. "How dare you!"

Naruto just shrugged off the threat. "Insult you? Hardly. I'm just trying to be honest with you. I made a promise to Neji several years ago that, when I became hokage, I would change the Hyuuga clan for him. That means making your clan relax some of the restrictions you place on its members... which would include allowing your children to marry into other clans. By coming to you now, like this, you will see what I'm really going to do, and vote for me based upon what you really think of my abilities and ideas. If you vote against me, well, so what? I'll still become hokage."

Hiashi stiffened. "Unlikely. No hokage has ever been able to take the position without the support of the Hyuuga clan. And the Hyuuga clan will never support someone who would destroy what we are -- so I fear you have just doomed yourself."

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "Well, I was sort of hoping to avoid this, but... if I can demonstrate that those outside of your clan can add to it, and not weaken it, will you change your mind?"

"And just how would you prove that?" Hiashi snorted.

Sakura decided it was time for her to intervene again. "I'm one of the best medical ninja around. Only Tsunade-sama is rated greater then I am in all of Konoha, correct?" Hiashi's grudgingly agreed with a simple nod. "Well, I have been conducting extensive medical studies into your clan's genetics, and--"

"How dare you!" Hiashi snapped. "What gives you the right to--"

"Oh, get over yourself," Sakura laughed. "I am maintaining the proper confidentiality expected of a medical specialist, so I haven't violated any ethics. And I wasn't looking at Hyuuga genetics for fun -- rather, I was investigating the genetic problems of the Uchiha clan by studying their closest relations."

Reluctantly, Hiashi had to admit that was an acceptable excuse... and so he tried to rein in his anger. She wasn't the one he really was upset with, after all, and making a simple concession like this might help him regain the moral high ground. "I am not happy with this, but I'll bow to the necessity of your study."

Sakura didn't seem all that impressed with his show of magnaminity, however. "Yeah, whatever. Like you could stop me." She smiled darkly, but decided to reveal her findings rather than to antagonize the man further -- they wanted him angry, but not so angry that he would completely ignore what they were saying. "I'll go so far as to say there is a reasonable excuse for forbidding some relationships between your clan and others without certain restrictions. But none of these three have the genetic difficulties a major clan might have interacting with your own, and it is wise to bring in 'new blood' for any clan. A few generations of intermarriage is fine, but without fresh blood you start seeing genetic defects." She paused, then said something she suspected that she hadn't even mentioned to Naruto. "I fear that may be why Hinata-chan's clan abilities are so weak -- there is some sort of genetic defect weakening her byakugan."

Hiashi stiffened. "Our clan has been growing stronger and stronger by intermarriage for hundreds of years. I doubt it would suddenly start weakening us."

"Suddenly? No. But Hinata-chan doesn't show any significant defects, either -- she's just weaker then she should be. It would take a few more generations." She paused. "The best bet your clan has to survive is to bring in fresh blood, and fast. It wouldn't hurt if they were strong people who aren't already a part of another major clan, like Hanabi's three lovers here."

Hiashi eyes the trio with distaste. "I don't see anything special about them. How are they 'strong?'"

Naruto smirked. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you have a practice match with one of them? If they can beat you, surely they're strong enough to join your clan."

_Well, now,_ Hiashi thought. _Maybe there's a way to eliminate some of this stain on our heritage already. There is no way any individual not of a major clan could defeat the strongest of the Hyuuga._ "If one of them can beat me, then I'll consider it. But only if they can beat me -- if they can't..." He paused to consider what to demand of them. Hanabi didn't seem to be willing to divest herself of her lovers, and he... well, he actually cared for his youngest daughter. But he couldn't allow her to have her way in this... although there was an option. "If they can't, she'll willingly submit to having her blood sealed."

Naruto was thrown for a second -- he was pretty sure his students could handle Hiashi, but this wasn't what he intended to put up for ante in the fight he was brokering. "I'm not so sure about that one..."

"Losing confidence in us, Naruto-sensei?" Inari snickered.

"I accept," Hanabi snapped. "Inari-chan will be my champion. And father... you will lose."

Naruto looked at her in surprise, but then shrugged. "You heard her, Hiashi-san. Fight's on..."

* * *

"Remember, this is a 'friendly' practice match," Naruto said, glancing about to inspect the battlefield of 'urban training area 3,' where they had decided to hold the match in the end. "Pull any lethal blows or permanantly crippling blows. Nothing to the crotch, either -- I hate crotch hits, especially when they happen to me, so I don't want the two of you doing anything of the sort. Fight until unconsciousness, surrender, or other inability to continue. Um, am I forgetting anything?"

"If any rules are broken, the match is forfiet," Sakura added, smiling dangerously at Hiashi. "And if the violation is serious enough, Naruto and I may have to... intervene. You wouldn't like that, Hyuuga-san. Trust me on that."

Hiasha frowned at the lack of respect. He was the most powerful man in Konoha, outside of a kage -- these brats should be more respectful of him. But he would tolerate it... and crush this 'champion' into dust. "Agreed."

"Ready?" Naruto asked Hiashi, ignoring Inari as the young ninja pulled out a bowl of ramen and started eating. The Hyuuga patriarch glared over at the boy, but nodded. "Begin!"

Hiashi intended to strike quickly, ending the battle from the start with a single blow of the jyuuken. He dashed in, his fist pulling back to strike as quickly as he could... but as he started to throw the 'single blow,' he found his hand wouldn't move. His byakuugan activated, he figured out why pretty quickly -- his hand was stuck to the wall of the building behind him by a long, sticky strand of seemingly unbreakable ramen noodles. "How..."

"A little chakra manipulation here, a slight modification of a technique from a scroll on ninja puppetry that Naruto-sensei couldn't use himself, and a good bowl of noodle soup," was all the explanation Hiashi was given by Inari. "Udon works better, because it's a bit thicker and stickier, but ramen's good too... and it's much easier to find instant ramen than it is to find instant udon."

"You wouldn't have this much control over it unless you've been practicing this technique for a while," Hiashi noted, raising his other hand peacefully to indicate he wanted a pause for discussion, as was customarily granted in friendly practices. "This is a jounin-level technique, I can tell. How long have you been able to perform it."

Even Naruto seemed surprised at that. "Jounin level? Really? I got a bargain, then -- I only paid for a genin-level technique from that Ninja Puppetry school Ero-sennin took me to."

"You _bought_ this technique?" Hiashi asked, surprised. The only ninja techniques he had ever heard of for 'sale' of any sort involved either missing nin trying to fund their escape from their home village, or very simple and basic techniques taught to encourage other ninja to join a new village. This technique required much more complexity than should be expected from the later, and wasn't exactly the sort of thing the former would bother with.

"I signed up for a crash course in ninja puppetry basics at a neutral school somewhere in the north," Naruto explained. "The scroll was my textbook, which was only supposed to be giving me an 'introductory' lesson. I found I couldn't control my chakra as they wanted me to, so Ero-sennin, who signed me up for the course, pulled me out after a couple weeks. Just as well -- I hated the thing."

"And how did you come to give it to this child?" Hiashi asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Back when we were all studying our basic techniques," Umiko explained, surprising the Hyuuga elder. The girl lover of his younger daughter had some of the distinct voice patterns he recognized in his older daughter... though only some of them. There was no stuttering, no nervousness, only... a quiet softness that struck him wishing that he was not so estranged with his whole family at the moment. Perhaps that was why Hanabi had allowed herself to be so seduced. "Our class was getting bored by studying the same three techniques over, and over, and over again. Haruno-sensei noticed our lack of attention, and so she discussed the problem with Naruto-sensei and the other veteran ninja."

Naruto picked up the story from there. "I'd collected quite a few scrolls I just couldn't use from my three-year training trip with Erosennin. Usually, they were the basics of techniques -- things which I couldn't pick up, like genjutsu specialization or ninja puppetry -- and I wasn't sure what to do with them. I certainly had no use for them, and most of the people I knew who would be interested in those types of techniques felt they were too simple to bother with. I decided to use them in a bit of a competition."

"He replayed a certain part of his youth," Sakura chuckled. "I'm sure you remember when the whole village was in such a panic because he'd stolen a certain sealing scroll from the archives?"

Hiashi winced. He had been part of the search party, and had always felt affronted that a loud, obnoxious academy student had been able to hide from him and his entire clan. "Yes," he growled.

"Well, Naruto hid the scrolls in 'secure' locations, and told the students to find them and steal them, if they could," Sakura continued. "They would have until they were caught by mother, Naruto-kun, Ino-chan, Kakashi-sensei, or myself to study these scrolls, and in future classes they could bring that knowledge out if they desired."

"Inari-kun managed to learn enough of the scroll to figure out some of how it worked before he was caught," Hanabi explained. "He didn't quite grasp everything right away, but when he started on the chakra control techniques Haruno-sensei was teaching us, he figured out how to modify what he knew so that he could use it. The problem was, he figured it out in the middle of lunch, and all he had to test it with was a bowl of ramen noodles. He would have practiced on wire, like he figured he was supposed to, but he didn't have any. He improvised."

"He flipped my skirt with it!" Umiko pointed out, laughing, much to Hanabi's annoyance. The Hyuuga girl had accepted Umiko into her... well, harem, for lack of a better word. That much was true. But that didn't mean she could completely ignore it when Umiko was able to 'flaunt' an encounter with one of her boys. "I don't think he was trying to, but looking back on it the whole thing was pretty funny. Hanabi and I both nearly gave him a black eye for the insult."

"A similar technique using wire is often graded a chuunin level technique," Hiashi explained slowly. "But with noodles -- or any similarly delicate material where one would have the added difficulty of making them strong enough not to be too easily broken -- the exponential increase is such that this would be graded at jounin level."

"Well, that's how I figured it out," Inari snapped. "And taught it to Naruto-sensei, who taught it to the whole class. No-one does it better than me, though... but enough already! Are we here to spar or are we here to talk?"

"You're here to die," was all the warning the boy had before a kunai sank into him. Hiashi flinched, finding himself in the uncomfortable position of not being able to see where the attack was coming from. Evidently, the assassin knew where the Hyuuga patriarch's blind spot was located, and had been hiding in it the entire time they had been fighting. Given that he had told only one person where that blind spot was, he had a pretty good idea as to where that information had come from.

Fortunately, Inari wasn't killed by the kunai. Instead, a puff of smoke eventually revealed that it was a log, not the boy, who had taken the blow. Inari slipped out of his hiding spot, eyes widened. "What is going on?"

"Mother!" Hanabi snapped. "Quit playing around and get out of here!"

"I guess we get to meet the folks after all, huh?" Umiko said to Adaha. "Not exactly a pleasant meeting with your future in-laws, though."

The Hyuuga matriarch landed not too far away in front of them. "You are no longer my daughter, so I would appreciate it if you didn't call me 'mother,'" she growled dangerously. "Husband, it is nice to see you." So far, outside of the kunai to Inari's chest and the death threat which some ninja might actually find a pleasant greeting between one another, she hadn't done anything overly aggressive. She was just walking casually between them, approaching Hiashi with an almost seductive gait. Despite her words and actions, there was no 'killer intent' felt by anyone, and in fact she was carrying herself in as non-threatening a manner as was possible for a ninja. Even the kunai, as it was thrown, looked to be little more than a 'warning shot.' Everyone was being watchful, however.

"And you are here, because?" Hiashi asked slowly.

"Why, husband, is that how you greet me?" she asked, feigning offense. "I remember a time you liked it when I surprised you like this."

"Those surprises rarely involved a kunai in my blind spot," Hiashi snapped.

"Temper, temper," the Hyuuga matriarch chided. "I'm not really here to kill anyone. Any ninja worthy of the name would be able to avoid that kunai, even a first year student. Now... you were having a little 'practice' session with this boy, here, huh? Interesting." She glanced at Hanabi, giving her a cold smile. "So, you're willing to put your blood on the line for these pieces of trash, huh? Interesting. Very interesting."

"Hyuuga," Naruto began slowly. "You were not invited here. You are not welcome here. I have been told of at least one S-class missing nin who was killed by a kunai thrown just as simply, before, so I don't exactly ignore 'warning shots' like that one. As this is a private training session, I must ask you to leave."

"You can't make me do that," she replied, shaking her head dismissively. "Not if you intend to hold your match here. These training grounds are owned by the Hyuuga clan. Konoha leases them from us, but we have the right to be here if we wish, regardless of you desires."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, glancing over at Hiashi for confirmation. A little surprised that the young man who had been acting like such a brat since they met would trust his word, he found himself nodding reluctantly.

"I'm afraid that's correct," Hiashi sighed. "It is part of our clan's holdings. While the terms of our lease state that Konoha may send any of its citizens onto these lands as they see fit, for training and other purposes, only a higher ranking Hyuuga may force another from these lands. And -- at least until some form of arbitration has settled our disputes -- she is the highest ranking Hyuuga present."

Hanabi gave a slight smirk. "Oh, it's all right. Might do 'mommy' good to see just how good a non-Hyuuga can be."

The Hyuuga matriarch clenched her fists, restraining her anger. She had beaten into her daughters -- literally -- that she should never be called 'mom' or 'mommy,' but rather 'mother.' Nothing less formal would do for her. Hinata had also started taunting her with taunts of 'mom' during the efforts at arbitration Tsunade had brokered. 'Mommy' was ten times worse, however.

Naruto glanced at Hanabi, but she just smiled at winked at him in answer to his unasked question. "Well... if you insist. Inari, Hiashi -- continue!"

Hiashi grimmaced. This was a bad situation. As much as he disliked the fact that Hanabi was apparently choosing people outside the clan to take as lovers, he knew she did love them. She would not have wagered a blood seal to preserve their relationship if she didn't. He didn't want to risk the death of her lovers, or Hanabi herself, but with his own wife here there was a chance they would be in danger. Naruto and Sakura could not protect all four of them at the same time, but he might be able to even out the odds. To do so, though, he couldn't afford to tire himself out... so he had to end this fight as quickly as possible, it would seem.

"You may have a few impressive tricks," Hiashi said, addressing Inari. "But you are not capable of challenging the most elite of Hyuuga techniques. You surely have learned that from my daughter." He paused. "And, undoubtably, you've learned what the words 'you are within the range of my divination' means, correct?"

Inari's eyes widened as the first pair of pinpoint attacks struck. He counted -- two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and finally sixty four. _Good,_ he thought to himself. _He didn't do the full hundred and twenty eight._

Hiashi was a little surprised at how unphased his daughter appeared, seeing her lover's sixty-four tenketsu closed as he was knocked back several yards. Instead, what he saw appeared to be a rather nostalgic -- and someone disturbingly sensual -- grin appear on her face.

Inari rolled back to his feet, a grin on his face. "I figured you'd try that one. So did Hanabi. We had such a fun time exploring where my tenketsu were so that I could defend myself. Of course, in order to figure out where they were, I needed as little clothing as possible -- just to be clear -- so that I would know exactly how much I needed to dodge."

Hiashi's furious intake of breath as he heard about some of the things this boy had done while... despoiling his youngest daughter was quickly overshadowed as the Hyuuga matriarch's fury also made itself known. "You've done what?" she screamed at Hanabi, making no pretense at civility. "How could you reveal family secrets like that!"

Hanabi shrugged it off, although a slight tenseness in her shoulders showed that the bravado was at least somewhat faked. "What were you expecting? I know you'd want any lovers I take outside of the clan killed. I had to give him a means to defend himself from you, and knowing where his own tenketsu were was vital to that defense. It's not like they'll be able to use it for anything other than dodging your attacks."

Umiko grinned. "It was really interesting when she pointed them out to me, too. The tenketsu are in much more 'fun' places on a girl than on a guy, I think."

That was the final straw, as the Hyuuga matriarch's control snapped and she charged blindly at Umiko. She didn't make it more than three steps, however, before she found herself unable to move. Chakra-laced ramen bound her wrists and ankles, and Eagle, Toad, and Slug had her pinned, hew own daughter struck out against several of the tenketsu in her arms and legs, and Adaha stood between her and the girl, his eyes glaring her down unflinchingly. Naruto and Sakura stood in position to keep Hiashi from interfering, but it seemed her husband was willing to stand back and let things run their course.

"Is this sufficient, father?" Hanabi asked, not looking at him. "Or does Inari-kun have to keep up with this game while 'mommy' plots to kill my lovers and myself?"

Hiashi stepped forward, acknowleding Naruto with a nod as he passed. It was beginning to dawn on him just why the young hokage-designate had decided to bring his daughter and her lovers to him that day -- they were more than just lovers, they were a team. In a flash, they had taken down a Hyuuga clan member he would have found nearly impossible to defeat, himself. They obviously loved each other, and they seemed strong enough. And if Sakura, whose medical skills were thought to be the equal of the hokage's, believed there might be a slowly developing problem with his clan's intermarriage... then perhaps it was time to bring in fresh blood, after all, and these children seemed like good additions. He could have done without the other girl, though.

"As long as you avoid pregnancy, I will leave your blood unsealed for the moment," Hiashi declared, ignoring his wife's anger. She couldn't speak, as Sakura's slug had an... well, an appendage of some sort was clamped over her mouth. "I would like to learn more of Sakura-san's medical findings before making a decision as to children of this... um, union. However, I am not pleased with how much you are flaunting this relationship in my face, daughter."

Hanabi, for the first time since confronting her father, blushed. "I'm sorry, father. I needed to provoke both you and mother into taking certain actions, and it seemed... well, this was an ideal way of doing so. I usually have much more discretion with this relationship; I do not try to hide it, and in Blossom it is common knowledge that we have this... unusual bond. But we rarely even talk about it in public, much less flaunt it as we have been." She paused. "And at least none of us have Moegi-chan's problem."

"Moegi-san's problem?" Hiashi repeated. "What is that?"

Here, Naruto and Sakura both blushed, but Hanabi's explanation kept them from having to meet anyones eyes. "During my chuunin exam, Moegi-chan took a life-threatening blow to protect me from Sinobi Gashir. Naruto-sempai had a way to save her life, but it involved a mixture of blood and chakra that... well, 'poisoned' Moegi's blood, in a sense. As we recently found out, while the kyuubi is healthy inside of Naruto-sempai, she remains healthy. When it becomes ill, the kyuubi-chakra still inside her may inflict minor damage against her immune system. And it has resulting in a somewhat... empathic bond with the kyuubi's hosts... which means, when they are having an, ahem, encounter, Moegi's libido is... strongly affected. To the point where she's been seen almost raping Konohamaru-kun in public on occasion... not that the boy minds."

Hiashi had tuned much of that explanation out, however. "Sinobi... Gashir?"

Naruto winced. "Um, Hanabi-chan? You father didn't know about that one, and it was supposed to be a secret."

"What is this about Sinobi Gashir?" Hiashi demanded.

"You will have to talk with Tsunade-sama about it," Hanabi sighed, sending a non-verbal apology Naruto's way. "Apparently, some parts of that mission were classified that I was not aware of. She would know what can and cannot be revealed."

Naruto added a little bit more. "Let her know that I said you can have all the details. I haven't had an update, myself, in a couple years, but last I heard he was still in custody. You might want to, um, question him." Hiashi was gone in moments, and Naruto turned his attention to the other adult Hyuuga present, whose eyes were looking more and more wild as time went on. "Now, as for you..."

Finally pulling her mouth from the slug's grip, the Hyuuga matriarch started ranting. "How dare you treat me like this! I should--"

"Shut up," Naruto said, slapping her hard across the face. "You are a piece of trash who would, left to your own devices, ultimately destroy everyone trying to prop up some twisted sense of what your clan should be. You should be expelled from Konoha, and I would do so in a second if I didn't know you'd be more dangerous as a missing nin than you would as a citizen. If your faction wins the day in your little 'family dispute,' I almost think it would be best to wipe your clan to the ground and rebuilt it from scratch, using sensible people like Hinata, Hanabi, Neji, and even your husband Hiashi as the guides. But because it is a 'family dispute,' I won't interfere... provided you ensure that it doesn't negatively affect the functioning of Konoha. At this point, you are just barely more of a nuissance as a dead martyr than as a live enemy, but only just... don't push it."

With a nod, Inari let her go. She glared from person to person angrilly, seeing only defiance flashed back at her, but she restrained her anger enough to disappear without a word.

"My mother is insane," Hanabi sighed. "I will kill her, myself, if she tries anything. I almost think you should have, there, Naruto-sempai."

"Is that really wise, letting her go like that?" Sakura asked softly, putting a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"It's a risk," Naruto admitted. "And a big one. She will almost certainly have to die before this is all over... but not yet." He glanced at Hanabi. "We need to get your sister and your father on the same side, first, Hanabi-chan. Think you're ready to help me with that one?"

Hanabi shook her head, sadly, before her trio came up and started taking their places around her in a comforting group embrace. "Anything. To end this nightmare, I will do anything."

* * *

Tenten hesitantly slipped into the classroom. The woman at the counter had very carefully not laughed at her nervousness, but Tenten could read the amusement in the young woman's eyes. However, she was required to take this course, and so she had to endure all the laughter that was sent her way for it. Still, every kunoichi (well, almost every kunoichi; there were a few 'early exemptions' who entered every year, but that kind of girl, well... suffice it to say they were rarely popular with other girls) knew to dread courtesan training, and Tenten was no exception.

"Hello, Tenten-chan," Kireme said from the front of the room. "Come on in."

Tenten sighed, but stepped on through. It looked as if Shizune would be acting at Sakura's replacement in teaching the medical aspects of courtesan training. She'd wondered about that. "Hello, Kireme-sensei."

"Relax, we aren't so formal, here," Kireme laughed. "It'd be pretty embarrasing if we were."

"It's embarrasing, already," Tenten moaned. "How could it get any worse?"

Three or four other girls, all younger than she, were sitting down. None of them looked particularly embarrassed, but Tenten couldn't read their faces nearly as well as she could the woman at the reception desk. They all flashed her a sympathetic grin, but mostly seemed just as amused as everyone else was to Tenten's plight.

"Don't worry about it," one of the girls -- an administrative nin known as Ekisutora Bangai -- said. Well, she was supposed to be an administrative nin -- she had been revealed to be a junior ANBU-in-training when they rescued Naruto. She had been training alongside Kainashi Rouhi and Yowamushi Kasuka as ANBU in the years since Naruto, Sakura, and Ino had all taken fellow students for teams from the first Academy class to graduate. Their cover as 'administrative nin' was fairly tight, however, and even now only a few people knew who they were -- Tenten included, as she'd been asked to take command of the ANBU squad until Anko could return. She was an 'early entry' candidate, it seemed, but that wasn't unusual for younger ANBU members. "Sousou-chan told us that it's mostly just birth control techniques, unless you show particular aptitude or desire to learn more."

"Here in Blossom, it is, anyway," Shizune noted. "In Konoha itself, every girl is given the full course, regardless. Here, unless we feel you have a particular aptitude for it that must be exploited, we give you the option. Keep in mind, though -- birth control means just that: Control. We'll be teaching you how not to get pregnant... or how to get pregnant. There have, in the past, been missions where a kunoichi would have to seduce and have the child of a particular person. These techniques can be used in your personal life, as well, so keep that in mind."

"Yes, Shizune-sensei," Tenten and Bangai chorused.

"I still find it embarrasing, though," Tenten continued alone. "I mean, I'm a... a virgin, and it seems--"

"And do you intend to stay that way forever?" Kireme asked, looking her in the eyes. "Is there no man on this world you will ever decide to share yourself with? Birth control, in particular, can be as important to a marriage as it is to... well, 'walking the streets,' if you will."

Tenten flushed, thinking of Neji. She flushed deeper, thinking of Lee... especially thinking of Lee, and the secrets they were now sharing with each other. She had been looking after him especially closely, lately, and that closeness was starting to materialize in other ways, as well. "I..."

"Sit down and relax. We'll try and keep as much embarassment as possible out of this, okay?" Kireme asked.

Tenten smiled weakly. "Yes, sensei."

* * *

Notes: Well, most of what I had to say is up top. I don't know when the next chapter will come up, but given the way things are around here you'll be lucky to see another chapter in the next year (though, obviously, I'll TRY to write another one faster than that).

Next Chapter: Naruto, Sakura, and Hanabi talk to Hinata and Kiba. Neji sends several teams of genin out from Blossom to observe some curious reports along the borders. I might even get Sakura's mother's arrival in Konoha, if it works out right, but we'll see.


	67. V4 Chapter 7

Volume 4

Notes: It's curious how wide a gap is in the audience for some of my fics. Within twenty four hours of posting the previous chapter of fic on FFNet, I'd recieved more than twelve hundred hits and fifty reviews. The next day, I posted a chapter for my ongoing Voltron fanfic, and I had seven hits and no reviews after the same length of time. Funny thing is, the per chapter hit count (though not overall hit count; the Voltron fanfic and Patlabor: Personal Files swap positions for overall) says that my Voltron fanfic is my second-most popular fanfic on FFNet, despite having other fics in more popular series such as Ranma and DBZ... and yet, the difference is still that large. Gah!

If you're going to warn me that someone is plagiarizing me, be sure of your facts, and be sure you know what plagiarism is. A concept or idea is not something that can be plagiarized. A single line of dialogue is something that yes, technically can be plagiarism (or, perhaps more accurately, trademark or (in fanfiction) gimmick infringement), but given such a small sample size one should usually give the benefit of the doubt and assume that it's just two different authors with the same idea (I believe the line in question for this specific case was "What is this -- Whack-a-mole?" I certainly wouldn't assume I was the only person to think of that line). There have been legitimate cases of plagiarism made with this fic, but I've had twenty false alarms to every one true example I've seen. I appreciate the loyalty, but try not to have such a hair trigger.

Oh, and has anyone caught Chapter 361 of the manga, yet? In it, Sasuke makes a fuss about the fact that his technique is called 'chidori,' not 'raikiri.' Could it be that these are seperate techniques after all? Heh...

* * *

Chapter 7

Neji read through the document he had been handed. "And you are bringing this to me for what reason, exactly?" he asked darkly.

The young man -- an older administrative ninja who was attached to the Konoha-Blossom Messenger Pipeline Service, blinked in surprise. "I understood that Tsunade-sama had briefed you. Or am I mistaken?"

"She briefed me on a great many things," Neji replied. "But that still doesn't explain why I am getting Gai-sensei's mail."

The administrative ninja appeared confused. "Hokage-sama's letter explained to me that you would be taking the leadership role in our shadow government, while Gai-sama would be the official leader of the village. Is this... incorrect?"

Neji cocked an eyebrow. "I was merely told I was to take Naruto-san's role as the 'power behind the throne,' as it were. I was not told anything about a shadow government."

The administrative ninja sighed. "Well, I suppose she might not be familiar with our own internal workings. It took quite a while, and evolved quite a bit, since it started during Blossom's founding year."

"Could you, perhaps, explain it to me?" Neji asked. "I'm quite curious as to the situation I've walked into, here."

"Well, it all started rather informally, with Naruto-sama arranging for messages to the jounin-oyabun to come through the office at the private residence he and his betrothed were staying in. He--"

"Betrothed?" Neji repeated, clearly shaken. Hinata had been trying to get some information on the situation in Blossom since assuming the mantle of leadership over her faction of the Hyuuga clan, as Hanabi was present here and so, apparently, was a scion of the old clan in Adaha. He'd read everything she had on the village before taking this mission, and while confidential information was scarce it had appeared as if personal data was accurate. He had known about the brothel before arriving, unlike his teammates, for example. He knew of Moegi and Konohamaru's sudden marriage and pregnancy. Hanabi's twisted relationship had even been mentioned in one report, but had been discounted as false data due to the shear improbability of it. However, no mention was made of Naruto being engaged to anyone.

"You are familiar with Haruno Sakura-dono, are you not?" the admin-nin asked. "From everyone's accounting, he had been close to the young lady even before arriving in Blossom."

"I knew Sakura-san, yes," Neji agreed, a little startled at how both Naruto and Sakura were so formally addressed. "Not as well as some in our little group, but I knew her. I was just not aware they had been 'betrothed.'"

The admin grinned slightly at that. "Ah. Well, they were trying to keep it a secret. Naturally, with gossip like that, everyone knows... but we're all too polite to ruin their illusions." He paused. "If you were looking through intelligence reports on our town, I suspect you wouldn't find anything out about that. Blossom has taken much the character of Naruto-sama, its greatest hero: It appears to be full of holes, leaks of information, and sometimes makes rather dangerous-sounding decisions. However, that is all an illusion -- secrets are hidden by appearing to be open about things that are not as secret, spies are allowed in but are known to be spies, and bad decisions are made at the top... but the shadow government that actually controls Blossom smooths out the problems those decisions cause. There are known leaks that have been supplying your Hinata-san with information for years, but the really important things have all been hidden from them. While everyone in town who knows anything is 'aware' of the betrothal, we are conscious enough of Naruto-sama's privacy to not leak his secrets to your spies, even if they are as unimportant as this one."

Neji pondered those words for a moment. It meant that, most likely, much of the information he had on Blossom was material its residents either didn't care about or wanted Konoha's residents to have. "I need a briefing on the real situation here... and then we'll get to the matter of this letter."

"Of course, Neji-san. Now, as I was saying, when Naruto-sama realized he needed to formalize this little shadow government of his, he started out by adopting a varient of the Imperial 'Insei' system, where he would be playing the part of the 'retired' Emperor..."

* * *

It took several days, but finally Naruto, Sakura, and Hanabi were 'allowed' to have an audience with Kiba and Hinata. Sakura found it slightly amusing that she needed to make special arrangements with her renter in order to visit the condo she owned, but she said nothing about it to anyone -- only Ino would understand, and the blond girl would likely be more angry about it than she was.

Hanabi, however, had been growing increasingly impatient and irritable over the course of the week. To make matters worse, she wasn't allowed to bring Inari, Adaha, or Umiko with her -- they had tried to accompany her, but some members of the Branch line of the family stopped them from entering the building in which Hinata lived. Those Branch members glared at her with disdain, and a few years back she would have used their seals against them for such treatment. The fact that she restrained herself this time may have bought her some points, but she was unaware of it as they climbed the stairs to the second floor condo.

It wasn't helping Hanabi's mood that Naruto was acting wierder than usual. She had asked Sakura about it, since the pink-haired girl -- even now -- would normally 'discipline' her lover with a blow to the head for acting up like he was. Sakura was merely rolling her eyes at his antics, however, and said 'He's just been out too long, that's all.' What that meant, Hanabi didn't know, but she was still getting frustrated with the whole business.

"What's the big idea of making us wait so long, Hinata-nee-chan?" Hanabi griped once the five of them were seated -- Naruto, Sakura, and herself on a couch while Kiba and Hinata shared a loveseat across from them. A few other chairs around the room -- and some not really hidden but still out of eyeshot paperwork -- made it obvious that this was the war room for Hinata's side of the Hyuuga faction, but the seating was more comfortable than they should have expected. "And why can't my lovers be with me when we meet?"

Hinata and Kiba shared a look. Kiba gave a barely perceptible sniff, and nodded. "We're sorry, Hanabi-chan," he eventually replied. "But security has had to be pretty tight, lately... and quite frankly, we're not sure whose side you're on."

"But Naruto-sempai was vouching for me," Hanabi pointed out. "I know that, whether you trust me or not, you like him. Why did it take so long?"

Hinata was looking at her sister oddly. "You've become a lot more expressive lately, sister. When you left town, you were so much like mother I was almost afraid of you."

Hanabi flushed. "Well... Naruto-sempai and Inari-chan have been helping me open up a lot, and... well, Adaha and Umiko-chan's presence in my life make it difficult to hide my emotions entirely."

"To answer your question," Kiba continued, still not sure what to make of Hanabi. He also wasn't sure what to make of Naruto, whose attention seemed to be wandering quite a bit. In fact, the young man looked like he would be literally bouncing off the walls if Sakura wasn't holding him down with a hand on the inside of his thigh. "We've had quite a difficult time with Hyuuga-sama's attempts on our lives, lately, and it makes us suspicious of anyone who wants to see us. She's had assassins impersonate the Hokage, herself, in an attempt to kill us."

Hinata smiled at her lover. "Kiba-kun saved us both that first time, thanks to his nose. We've been a lot more cautious since then. However, he's never been able to, ahem, 'smell' your lovers, sister, so he couldn't be certain of their identity. That is why we only allowed the three of you to visit."

"Well, I'm glad we finally got the chance to see you," Sakura replied, stroking Naruto's thigh to passify him, and doing a good job of it. Hanabi still looked a little put out, but she supposed she understood her sister's reasoning. "Naruto wants to get this whole mess with your clan sorted out, Hinata-chan, and we've got some important information that might help with that."

"Oh?" Hinata asked, her voice taking a different -- stronger -- tone. Kiba recognized it as her 'faction leader' voice, and grimmaced. He'd been hoping that they had come as friends -- especially as Hinata had been unable to take many 'social' visitors for some time -- but it looked as if this would be another business meeting, after all. "And what information is that?"

Sakura took a deep breath, as this was going to be a difficult conversation. "Well... I've been conducting some genetic tests on the Hyuuga clan, recently, using Hanabi-chan as my prime example. I also had a stroke of fortune thanks to the appearance of Adaha, a Hyuuga from before the byakuugan was, um, completed -- it gave me a baseline to compare to. And what I've found is disturbing, but may lead to a compromise solution between your faction and your father's."

Hanabi and Hinata both blinked at that, looking equally surprised. When the pair wore the same facial expression -- and the same hairstyle as they now wore -- it was easy to see the resemblence between them. Had they been born the same year, they would have been identical twins, it looked like. "What have you found?" Hinata asked, recovering from her surprise.

"More than a century of inbreeding is starting to cause serious problems inside your genetic structure," Sakura explained, taking a deep breath. "Without bringing in fresh blood from outside of the clan, genetic defects will start showing up in great numbers within the next couple of generations. They may have already started, in fact."

Kiba looked overjoyed. If this were true, Hiashi should have no argument to his daughters marrying and having children from outside of the clan, which would drop most of the conflict they had with each other. Hinata, however, noticed how solemn Hanabi was, and how serious Sakura still looked, and knew that wasn't the whole thing.

"There is a 'but,' of course," she said, signalling for Sakura to continue.

"There is a 'but,'" the pink-haired woman agreed. "A serious one, too, and it affects you more than Hanabi-chan, because of your choice of lovers."

Kiba's expression turned angry at that. "What? What's wrong with her and me being lovers, huh? You just said she needs to have children with people outside of the clan!"

Sakura looked unphased, despite Kiba's bared fangs. After all, she had been around Naruto when kyuubi had much sharper fangs showing on him, and had learned never to be intimidated by them. In fact, considering the cases she most often saw bared fangs, she was feeling a little uncomfortably turned-on. "I did say that," she replied. "And the problem isn't you, specifically, Kiba-san. It is your clan's blood that is the problem."

Kiba flinched. "My clan's... blood?"

"It comes down to the biggest genetic difference between the old Hyuuga clan and the new Hyuuga clan," Sakura sighed. "Had the Hyuuga's not, er, completed the byakuugan, there would be no problem. However... I was researching the Uchiha clan to see what I could determine about the Uchiha clan. It seems as if the Uchiha clan had a genetic predisposition towards insanity because the Uchiha contribution to the clan was intolerant of the genetic differences that allow most major clan's bloodline abilities to work. Bring in someone from outside the clan who doesn't already have a major bloodline, everything's fine, but bring in, say, an Akimichi, say, or... or an Inuzuka, and you will likely cause the same genetic predisposition to insanity."

Both Hinata and Kiba stilled. "Are you sure the Inuzuka clan's blood will cause a problem?" Kiba asked. "We may look it, but according to our records we never bound a lesser demon into our bloodline like some of the major clans did..."

"I'm sure. I tested it against Hana-chan's blood," Sakura sighed, resigned. "Hanabi doesn't have to worry, because none of her lovers have this problem, but..." She couldn't finish her explanation.

"Is there a treatment?" Kiba demanded stiffly. "Some way to... avoid this problem?"

Sakura glanced at Hinata apologetically. The pain in the Hyuuga woman's face was heartbreaking. "Well... if we can seal up her blood before she gets pregnant..."

At the stricken look on her sister's face, Hanabi rushed in to re-assure her. "Don't worry, Hinata-nee-san. I know you want to help our cousins in the Branch family, but I promise I'll take over your place in that. I'm sure father will, too, if you can get him to agree--"

"I don't care about that," Hinata said, forcing the words out with such determination it shut Hanabi up and momentarily stopped Naruto's fidgetting. "I have to know... is there a way to fix the problem if my blood is not sealed up before I get pregnant?"

Sakura blinked. "I don't know. I'd have to look it up. But... well, I don't see how that would matter much -- surely this situation with your father will end some time, and I can teach you some birth control techniques so--"

"You don't understand!" Hinata screeched. "I said I don't care about that. What I care about is that I'm pregnant right now, and I want to know if there's a way to save my child from becoming insane!"

Sakura's eyes widened, but it was Naruto's reaction which was the most unexpected. He leapt up, spinning to face the wall next to them. "No way..." he said, looking shocked.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked, though she didn't seem surprised.

"It's not who we thought it was," Naruto replied, then vanished in a puff of smoke. With the exception of Sakura, the remaining ninja looked confused.

"He was a clone," the pink-haired kunoichi explained. "According to Tsunade-shishou's reports, someone has been listening in on your private exchanges from here inside the apartment. So, Naruto sent a clone with me while the real him went searching for the spy, using his clone here as an extra pair of ears so he would know what to listen for."

"And who's the spy?" Kiba growled. Yes, he was distressed about the news Sakura had brought, but someone spying on them was a more immediate danger.

The front door opened, with Naruto dragging someone behind him. "As I said, it's not who we suspected." Dumping the body on the floor, Hinata started crying.

"Shino-kun," she sobbed, the sting of betrayal piercing every syllable of her words. "Why?"

* * *

"Lee!" Tenten called, waving at the young man in green as he made his way towards the northern training grounds.

"Oh, Tenten-chan!" Lee cheered, enthusiastic enough to remind the young girl of his older days when he was practically a clone of Gai. "I've got a mission so I have to hurry!"

Tenten jogged up to his side, a smile concealing the worry on her face. "Yeah, I heard. Sounds like a big mission, since you have two teams in addition to your own."

Lee nodded. "Yes. Gai-sensei has entrusted me not just with my own team of chuunin, but also Matsuri-chan and Daichi-kun with their teams of genin."

Matsuri and Daichi were the latest leaders of rookie teams. Now chuunin, they had both recieved teams following the recent Blossom Academy graduation. Tenten had seen Daichi moping about town because his 'Futaba-chan' was in Konoha proper, and had mentioned it to Neji... who, as Tenten was aware, had been the person who actually assigned the teams for this particular mission of Lee's. Apparently, Neji was hoping a mission would distract the rookie chuunin and help him to lead his team of rookie genin properly. Still, two teams of rookie genin lead by a pair of low-level chuunin wasn't exactly much reinforcement to a team like Lee's.

"Are you sure you want them?" Tenten asked casually. "Some spare genin aren't likely to be all that useful in a fight."

Lee nodded, smiling slightly. "But the power of youth flows through them! Um, and we're not expecting any fights -- this is strictly a surveillance mission. Manpower is more important than fighting ability, here."

Tenten frowned. "But you're a combat specialist. Why would you be sent?"

Lee shrugged. "I think Neji is the only jounin left in the village who is a surveillance specialist, and this mission needs a jounin in overall command. Neji can't afford to stay away from Blossom for too long, according to Gai-sensei, so he can only take missions that are expected to last only one week or less. I don't know why he picked me and not you, however."

Tenten sighed. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Um, here." She pulled out a bottle of what appeared to be a very expensive sake. "This should be a lot more pleasant tasting than the cheap rotgut you've been using... and it's stronger, too, so you won't need as much of it to pull out your drunken fighting techniques. I'm told it's also less likely to give you ulcers than the stuff you've been drinking."

Lee looked both touched and embarrassed, but took the bottle anyway. "Thank you, Tenten-chan. I... um, I wish..."

Tenten smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "For luck. Now, go -- your team needs you."

She watched him go with a sigh. The stuff she'd been learning in courtesan training had really made her think... and Lee wasn't such a bad guy. She was worried about him, though -- even surveillance missions proved dangerous from time to time. She had been trying to decide if she wanted to take the abbreviated courtesan training or the 'advanced' course, now that she was more aware of what it was really all about. From what she understood, he was supposed to be gone for about a month... which would bring him back just before she needed to make that final decision. Maybe she'd give Lee a welcome home to remember, and use that to decide...

* * *

Sakura was having a hard time concentrating. Shino had, of course, protested his innocence, and so Naruto had given him a chance to explain. But Sakura hadn't waited to hear the questioning. When Naruto dragged Shino into Hinata's bedroom, accompanied by Kiba, Sakura had promised Hinata that she would spend every moment she could looking for a solution to her future child's problem. So saying, she went out to research.

The ideal records to go through would have been the Uchiha records. They were the only other Hyuuga hybrid around, and while they were a 'failed experiment,' of sorts, it was often through studying failures that a solution could be found. But no-one knew exactly where the Uchiha records were, and she wasn't about to try searching through the closed-off Uchiha district to find something that hundreds of ninja hadn't been able to find in over a decade. The next best option would have been the Hyuuga family archives, but until the Hyuuga clan situation was settled she would have to deal with the Hyuuga matriarch to access those... which meant they were out of the question entirely.

The only other archive which might have any information regarding the Hyuuga was the Hokage's confidential archives. She had to get Tsunade's signed and sealed permission to enter the room, and now she was down in with the dusty scrolls trying to find anything she could on Hyuuga genetics. It was a harrowing process. Fortunately, there actually were archives related to the Hyuuga there.

In fact, there were archives related to all of the 'original twelve' clans. When the treaty unifying Konoha was signed, each clan had been required to submit a scroll full of techniques, a scroll full of medical data, a scroll full of clan history, and a scroll full of information on the weaknesses of their clan. This information was usually restricted to ANBU on a 'need to know' basis, but some things had slipped into more casual use.

Some of the scrolls she found were notable, despite not being relevant to her current search. Sakura suspected that Daichi, back in Blossom, would have been greatly intrigued at the Aburame contribution -- since their contract with the insects destroyed any ability for them to use their old techniques, the Aburame had given Konoha scrolls containing the complete set of Aburame skills prior to that contract. Since Daichi was trying to redevelop those skills, these scrolls would be of great interest to him. The Akimichi clan had brought the instructions for making soldier pills, blood pills, and many other kinds of food pills to the village, for example, and every ninja used them now. The Haruno clan, much to Sakura's surprise, had developed much of the medical ninjutsu that was now standard for every medical ninja. The Uzumaki clan's style of taijutsu was what was now taught as the standard hand-to-hand combat style at the academy. The Yamanaka clan lay down many interrogation techniques still in use. The Inuzuka clan taught all manner of animal care, not just for dogs but for birds, insects, frogs, monkeys, snakes, slugs, and every other creature Sakura had heard used as 'tools' in the village. The Nara clan's contribution turned out to be a set of genjutsu and genjutsu counters -- many of which she had learned from Kakashi and Anko, later and passing them on to her student, Munamoto Sousou.

When she actually found the Hyuuga contribution, she was very disappointed. The techniques they listed were merely chakra-building exercises, like the classic tree-climbing and water-walking skills she learned as a genin. The medical data was incomplete. The 'weaknesses' were things that were obvious, like 'poison.' The history was obviously little more than a mythical account of their 'creation as the ultimate ninja clan.' Nothing was useful, at all.

But she plowed on, hoping to find more medical information, somewhere. She found bits and pieces, and she was trying to put those bits and pieces together, but she couldn't concentrate. No, she was too angry to concentrate -- angry at Shino for spying on Hinata, angry at the Hyuuga clan for being so secretive and arrogant they were likely to destroy themselves, and angry at herself. After all, she should have known that Hinata might get pregnant -- she should have sent her warnings on to Tsunade when she discovered them, instead of continuing her research endlessly and allowing Hinata to get pregnant without knowing the added dangers hidden in her blood.

She had just stumbled across a large archive of sealed records on the Hyuuga from before Konoha's formal unification (largely compiled by their enemies) when she heard a noise coming from the direction of the doorway. Tsunade had assured Sakura that no-one would be allowed to disturb her while she was researching, and that even she wouldn't come in until Sakura came out. Which meant... this was an unauthorized intruder. But why would an unauthorized intruder by coming into these record halls now?

Unless the Hyuuga matriarch, warned by a spy (possibly Shino, but even if it wasn't him the fact that he managed to infiltrate Hinata's domain meant there was a good chance that others could spy on the young woman as well) that Sakura would be researching Hyuuga medical records, figured that this was the place to come. It was entirely possible that, as secretive as the Hyuuga were, there would be assassins sent after the person who tried to read those records.

With that in mind, Sakura employed the genjutsu she had taught Sousou. In theory, by melting into the shadows, even the Hyuuga couldn't see through the genjutsu... and fortunately, these musty archives were kept in low light to preserve the paper, and so there were plenty of shadows to sink into. She had a kunai at the ready to deflect attack, just in case... and there was a fairly good chance she could defeat most ninja by herself, if it came down to it. Hopefully, it wouldn't.

The figure, who Sakura couldn't see well because of the technique she was employing but nevertheless looked vaguely familiar, turned back to the door. "Are you sure she's in here? I can't see her at all?" a muffled female voice asked. A moment later, after apparently recieving some sort of non-verbal confirmation, the figure stepped further into the room, glancing up and down the aisles. She started up and down, checking everywhere.

Sakura slipped through the shadows as silently and invisibly as she could. If this assassin had a confederate outside of the door, she would have to fight her way through... but if she could take out the one inside without alerting the person outside, that would make the odds much better on her behalf. So thinking, she got as close as she could, then emerged from the shadows.

Leaving a world of silhouettes and shadows, knife at the ready, Sakura almost made a horrible mistake. Fortunately, she stopped herself in time, and the kunai she was throwing was pulled back before it could harm anyone. "Mother!" she cried, startled.

To say that the older Haruno was startled, herself, would be an understatement. She wasn't aware of even half of what her daughter was capable of, she knew, but a genjutsu of that level combined with the surprise that said genjutsu was intended to cause made her jump back, nearly knocking over one of the stacks of scroll-bearing shelves in the process. Recovering her wits, the glanced pointedly at the kunai.

"I know I'm sometimes a bit of a pest, dear, but isn't this going a bit too far?" she asked, humor obvious in her voice.

The kunai almost dropped to the floor in a clatter, but her grasp tightened as a thought occured to Sakura. Making a seal, she said, "Kai!"

The older Haruno raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a genjutsu, daughter. We're in Konoha -- why are you being so paranoid?"

Sakura swallowed. "You aren't supposed to be here. The Hokage said she wasn't giving anyone but me permission to enter these archives. And there's a good chance the Hyuuga clan would be sending an assassin after me if they knew I was here, researching their medical history."

Her mother grinned and nodded proudly. "Glad to see more proof that you inherited the Haruno brains. However, I got in just a few minutes ago, and when I told Hokage-sama why I wanted to see you -- and that I wanted to set out again later tonight -- she let me come in and let you know I was here."

Sakura blinked. "So soon? But... but why?"

"Because your father didn't come with me and I miss him, because I've done everything I need to do already on this trip but talk to you, and because I want to get back to Blossom in time to get ready for the start of the next semester at the Academy. Which means I probably should be on my way back by tonight, preferably, but by morning at the latest." She paused. "Hokage-sama explained that you might not come out of the archives even to sleep, tonight, so I figured I needed to come in after you."

"Okay," Sakura sighed. "I guess I can understand that. Okay, tell me something to prove to me you're my mother, and we'll go out to dinner, and we can talk."

Her mother smiled in amusement. "Well, since I packed all of the things out of your apartment in Blossom to help move you here, I know where you were keeping everything. Including the jars of edible massage oils, body chocolate, and other lubricants and sex toys -- in the locked set of drawers of the office you and Naruto-kun were running your shadow government from, second from the bottom, in a secret drawer."

"Eep," Sakura replied, flushing. "Geez, mom, you... geez. Well, only someone from Blossom could have found that out, so I'm convinced you are who you say you are, but... well, you... but..."

"It's all right, dear," the Haruno woman laughed. "If you think I haven't known for years about you and Naruto-kun's bedroom activities, you're fooling yourself. And I'm happy for you."

Sakura's blush didn't fade, but a slightly proud smile adorned her face. "Naruto makes me happy, mother, and I never thought I was hiding anything from anyone. After all, you'd only need to watch Moegi to know that Naruto and I... well..."

"I understand, dear." Her mother offered her arm. "Now, you said something about dinner?"

* * *

"Well," Kiba said reluctantly. "It makes a lot of sense. He has been able to warn us of danger many times in the past, and I can see why he would need his bugs in order to be that 'early warning system.' We knew he was using bugs to help keep us safe, though not how he was using them."

Naruto was studying Shino carefully, looking for any signs of dishonesty. Other than some small effort to hide his nervousness, however, Shino didn't appear to be attmepting any form of deception. That, in itself, was suspicious for a ninja. "I agree, it makes sense. But there are some things that don't."

"Such as?" Shino asked, looking for any wat to redeem himself. Naruto didn't say anything for a moment, then flashed his hand out and swatted a bug on one wall, squashing it flat. Shino flinched, his lips tightening in anger. "What was that for? Did you have to kill one of my bugs to prove yourself, or something?"

Naruto grinned dangerously. "Oh, that _was_ your bug? I was kinda hoping that it wasn't. See, I noticed that bug in this room from the moment we entered... which would mean it was in here before you were, Shino. And, if all your bugs were just here to 'look out for your fellow teammates,' there would be no need to station one here in the bedroom. No, if there was one in the bedroom, it was for... other reasons."

If Shino could have blushed, he would have. "I... well, I wasn't revealing any secrets I learned, here, to anyone else."

Naruto nodded. "I think I believe you on that. I don't think you would intentionally allow Kiba or Hinata to come to harm. If you had been thinking about it, something would have happened to them by now, and nothing has. But please, if you're going to be a freakish pervert about it, at least try getting you jollies honestly -- don't pretend to be all noble about it when you're just trying to peak at your friends having sex."

Hinata, who had been coming in from the doorway, squeeked. "Eep!" she cried, then left in a rush before delivering whatever message it was she wanted to give.

Shino sighed. "It honestly did start out as a simple matter of keeping them safe," he confessed. "The first time I caught them... in the act... it was an accident. But I was fascinated, and couldn't stop myself from watching them again... and again... and again. But I never abandoned my duty keeping them safe in order to indulge these... vices. And I never mentioned anything -- and I mean anything -- to anyone else, whether it was a secret or not."

"Of course not," Naruto agreed. "As I said, I don't think you'd hurt Kiba or Hinata intentionally. I've got a question, though -- are you the only person who can talk to your bugs, or can any Aburame clan member do it?"

Shino stiffened. "I... well, it is possible that some of my lesser drones would be unable to tell me apart from another of my clan. It happens, but it is considered taboo by my clan. Any who would attempt such a thing, for whatever reason, would be ostracized, if not outright killed, for such an action."

Naruto frowned. "Then it looks like I've got to meet with your folks, next..."

* * *

Hinata, who had looked so much more mature and confident than she had been before the trip to Blossom every time Sakura had seen her, seemed to be regressing to her old ways when she returned from her bedroom. "I... I'm sorry, S-sakura-kun," she said, blushing brightly and stuttering worse than he had as a genin. "B-but N-naruto-kun and K-kiba-kun are still busy."

Sakura sighed, and shrugged. Who knew why the old Hinata suddenly appeared? It didn't matter to her. "Well, thanks anyway, Hinata-chan." She turned to her mother. "Looks like it's just us."

The older Haruno, holding a bag of take-out food, shrugged. "Just as well. There were a few things I wanted to talk with you about without him around, anyway."

Leaping down the street to her childhood home, Sakura spared an eye to glance at her mother curiously. "And just what do you want to tell me that Naruto shouldn't hear, anyway?"

"Oh, it's not something he shouldn't hear," her mother answered. "Just something you probably don't want to talk about with him around."

They landed at the front door and entered. The house had been fairly well kept, despite the long absence of its residents -- the Hokage had been certain to keep it in good shape, having trusted people come in to clean and maintain the property while the owners were in Blossom. A large number of boxes were in one room, however -- boxes Sakura realized were filled with her and Naruto's things from Blossom.

"Okay, mother, what's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing much, dear," the Haruno woman answered, smiling. "I just figured, since your father and I have decided to stay in Blossom permanently, we would give you the property here in Konoha."

"But--" Sakura protested.

"Hush, dear. We've all grown to know and love Blossom, and your father and I enjoy living there more than we ever did in this stuffy village filled with arrogant Hyuuga, lunatic Uchiha, freaky Aburame, and intrigue and danger around every corner. We may be ninja, but we prefer 'small town ninja' to 'big city ninja,' we've decided."

Sakura sighed. "But I..."

"We'll visit frequently, of course," her mother continued. "Your father is a merchant, and I'm sure many of the things he trades and sells will be coming back to Konoha whenever possible. And, well, I know that Naruto has things he must do here, and you need to be here with him. So, I'm giving you a place to live."

"This is a very expensive house, mother," Sakura protested. "It's too much to accept as a gift."

"Nonsense!" Haruno replied. "After all, it is my job to provide you with a dowry, and this seems like a pretty good one to me." She paused, then reached into one of the boxes. "I know you've been thinking these mean something else, but with the way life has been going for you, lately... don't you think it's time you started wearing these?"

In her hands were the bracers Naruto had given Sakura as an engagement gift. Sakura stared at them for a very long moment. "I'm not ready to retire, yet," Sakura said. "Naruto will need me at his side too much, and there will be a lot going on in this village that will require me to stay unretired for a few years, still."

Her mother grinned. "I know, daughter. But I think... remember, dear, this village isn't Blossom. I think you should be wearing these, just to tell Konoha how proud you are of your fiance. Given the prevelant attitude most people have here about him, don't you agree?"

Sakura studied them for a long moment, before taking them into her hands. "Maybe," she finally said. "I think... maybe now is the time. But I need to talk to Naruto first."

"Of course, dear," her mother laughed. "Of course. Now, let's have dinner, shall we?"

* * *

Author's Notes, Historical References (Long, but possibly pertinent to the long-term future of this fic):

The 'Insei system,' mentioned briefly in the first scene, is referring to a form of government Japan once had where the 'retired' Emperor held more power than the Emperor, himself. It got a bit convoluted, at times, however. At one point (and only one, as there was only ever one attempt to use an insei-style shogunate, and it lasted only through part of one of the smaller shogunal lines) there was an Emperor, a 'Junior retired emperor,' a 'senior retired emperor,' a shogun, and a 'retired shogun,' all of whom could claim -- either by law, by custom, or by fact (though in none of the cases by all three) that they were the rulers of Japan. Most Japanese history texts in America -- and possibly in Japan, as well -- gloss over the retired shoguns, as they didn't last long and were rather insignificant in terms of their actions, outside of being one factor instigating the Kemmu Restoration.

I've even had others tell me there was no such thing as a 'retired shogun,' citing laws which would make it impossible. In fact, the laws of the Tokugawa Shogunate made it so that no Shogun could retire, they could only be replaced in death, and most people know of the Shogunate by the Tokugawa system... but prior to the Tokugawa line, there were many other Shogunal systems... including the original Hojo clan (if I ever did an Inu Yasha fanfic, you KNOW this little bit of historical data would find its way in there, somehow), which was wiped out during the Kemmu Restoration (and years later, adding to the confusion, another Shogunal Line would take their name in what is sometimes known as the 'Go-Hojo Shogunate'). It was the Hojo clan which founded the Shogunal Insei system, and it was because of their attempt that the insei system collapsed completely.

The retired Shoguns I was able to find the names for (there may be one or two more, but these were the ones listed in Kodansha publishing's Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (just to give at least one reference, as my little-used history-major's reflexes are begging me to do)) all belong to the original Hojo line: Hojo Tokimasa, Hojo Tokiyoru, Hojo Masamura, Hojo Sadatoki, Hojo Mototoki, and Hojo Takatoki. Only the first (who instituted the system with the Shoguns) and the last (who we'll get to in a moment) are of any importance. It is interesting to note that, had Japan attempted to surrender to an impending Mongol invasion force, there would have been a large question as to whether that surrender would have to come from the Emperor, the Senior Retired Emperor, the Junior Retired Emperor, the Shogun, or the Retired Shogun (Masamura, I believe, although my source doesn't say specifically; the dates line up right for it to be him, though).

The Kemmu Restoration was Emperor Go-Daigo's failed effort to restore power to the Imperial line by employing Takatoki's generals against him and the whole idea of Shoguns or Retired Shoguns. A complex set of betrayals within betrayals lead to the complete destruction of the Hojo clan, the end of the failed 'retired shogun' experiment, the end of the Insei system altogether, the replacement of Emperor Go-Daigo by one of his relatives, a more centralized government that weakened the power of the lesser daimyos, and the rise of the Muromachi Shogunate.

Why does any of this matter? Well... for this fic, it doesn't, but something intended to this fic's sequel (which is looking less and less like it will ever get written, which is why I'm giving this rather huge spoiler away now) is for all the Daimyo, all the Kage, and all the Jounin-Oyabun in the Naruto-verse attending the 'Capital' (I figure there is one -- the leaders of the 'countries' in Naruto are all Daimyo, which in a European feudal system is like a Duke. While Dukedoms do retain autonomy (in lesser or greater amounts, depending on where you are -- In England, a Duchy would be pretty directly ruled by the King. In the Holy Roman Empire, the 'Emperor' was little more than a figurehead whose rule didn't actually extend far past his castle walls, while his Dukes were like Kings of their own countries) they do at least pay lip-service to an Emperor who lives in a Capital). The situation these Daimyo, Kage, etc. enter is one where the situation is essentially identical to that during the Hojo Shogunate, where there were five people attempting to claim that they rule the whole country... while outside forces (Historically, the Mongols; in this fic, well, I haven't decided what to call them yet, but essentially are a 'barbarian' horde) are preparing to invade. Hence the reason for this history lesson...

Next Chapter: Naruto confronts the Aburame. Lee begins his mission. Sakura and Naruto talk. And maybe more -- we'll see what fits. No clue when it'll come out -- might take a year, might take a day. We shall see.


	68. V4 Chapter 8

Volume 4

Notes: On my mentioning of the Raikiri and Chidori thing -- I have long thought these were two seperate techniques, for a number of reasons. I am not convinced either way, yet, about whether they're two seperate techniques -- despite the one translation of Gai's description of the Chidori, I have also seen evidence that contradicts what Gai says (which, if they are different techniques, could mean that Gai just doesn't know everything about it, or his descriptions have been mistranslated, or many other possibilities; Gai's words are convincing, but over time other evidence has built up on the opposite side, as well -- Sasuke's dialog in chapter 361 which I referenced in my last authors notes, a poll conducted by Kishimoto's publisher, the differing appearance between the two that shows up most in the anime but which can also be seen in the manga, etc.), but there is nothing definitive (the differences could simply be caused because Kishimoto confused himself and or the publisher about the matter, quite frankly, but it's enough for me to suspect that maybe they aren't the same technique after all (long after I had been otherwise convinced that yes, they were)). I won't bring up my arguments, again, because, quite frankly, I'm tired of all the nonsense around this thing, and too tired to argue about it. However, I ALSO know that there has NEVER been any description of what the differences may be from any official or semi-official source. PLEASE stop talking about this 'Raikiri is S-rank Chidori is A-rank' shit -- because there has never been anything which said that beyond mere fan speculation. So, that will be my last words on the subject -- just as 'yellow flash vs. golden flash,' I will not be talking about it again and will ignored reviews and private messages on this subject and its relationship to the fic. For the purposes of this fic, regardless of what it says in canon, they are two seperate techniques. Or not, as it is completely irrelevant to the story save whether Kakashi had just one original technique or whether he had two, as of the time when this fic started... something which no longer matters.

Okay, let's calm down and make a story-relevant note. Aburame Shibi's characterization, in this chapter, comes almost entirely from the timber of his Japanese voice actor's voice in the single scene he appears (or at least, the single scene before the filler episodes -- never watched a lot of the post Tea Country fillers, so I suppose he might have appeared again there), and Shino's own behavior. I can't really figure out what else to get his characterization from. So no complaints he's out of character -- he doesn't have a character to be out of, yet.

Chapter 8

Naruto faced down every challenge with heart and fervor. Often times, this resulted in a bit of bravado as he went up against seemingly impossible odd. It was more than bravado, however, that he was faking as he marched through the streets of the Aburame district. To be quite frank, the whole place creeped him out... and he wasn't doing as good a job of hiding that as he should. He couldn't help it, though -- the two things that creeped him out the most were snakes and bugs. He hoped that Shino's father, Aburame Shibi, at least kept his bugs out of sight like his son did.

Shino was guiding him through the streets, obviously unphased by all of the swarms of beetles and bees and wasps and other insects that were flying about everywhere. Lights were carefully covered with paper or cloth in order to protect moths from their own curiousity. Spiderwebs adorned most of the windows and doors in place of screens. The smell of compost -- being used as maggot and grub food -- was everywhere. And everyone -- male or female, young or old, ninja or not -- wore dark shades that would not show anyone the wearer's eyes. If ever there was an arguement for clan autonomy, this was it, Naruto decided.

It was after he was nearly trampled by a happy-looking Aburame boy riding on the back of the largest centipede Naruto had ever seen that he finally broke.

"Er... no offense, Shino, but I'm starting to get a little creeped out here," he said, shivvering visibly. "I mean, aren't centipedes poisonous? A bite from one of those could kill someone, and yet you've got little kids playing with them!"

Shino's expression could not be seen, thanks to his ever-present coat, but he still seemed somewhat amused. "It will do good for our future hokage to learn that even the smallest of Konoha's creatures hold power, and so should not be overlooked. If you are scared by a few bugs, imagine what some of our enemies who do not share your... determination will think."

"This is more than 'a few bugs,'" Naruto shot back. "How much further is it?"

"We're here," Shino replied, pointing to a larger building. "The home of my father, Aburame Shibi, and the one-time seat of power for the Aburame clan prior to Konoha's unification." He paused. "Proceed with caution, as some of the insects here are not friendly with humans not of our clan."

Naruto twitched. "Um, right. Lead the way!"

Shino lead him into a large room that was almost empty. Spiders, worms, grubs, and -- most of all -- beetles were crawling all over the walls, and there was no furniture. The only light source was a skylight, which let the reddish light from sunset in to shine directly in the center of the room. Sitting in lotus position on what looked like a large, rolled-up pillbug in the center of the room, Aburame Shibi looked to be meditating. It was hard to tell if his eyes were closed or not, of course, because of the dark glasses over his eyes, but Naruto got the sense his eyes were closed.

"Father," Shino said, giving a quirky half-bow in greeting. "This is Naruto, the Hokage-designate. He wishes to speak to you."

"I know who he is," Shibi replied. "Greetings, Naruto-dono. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Naruto paused, then donned a confident smile. "Heh heh. Well, I was probably going to come see you pretty soon, anyway. After all, I need to meet with the clan leaders about the upcoming vote confirming my position as hokage."

Shibi gave a barely perceptable nod. "You have my vote. But that is not what brought you here, today."

Naruto blinked. "That easy? You aren't going to have me bring in my students to challenge you to a fight, you aren't going to have me prove I'm not really the kyuubi, nothing?"

"I know you can fight, I know your students can fight, and I know you can lead. If you couldn't, Blossom would not have grown as much as it has. That village's success, whether you are the kyubi or not, you are capable of being hokage," Shibi explained in a monotone voice. "Now, my patience is expended. Could you please give me the reason you came, today?"

Naruto took a deep breath as the pillbug Shibi was sitting on started uncoiling while the Aburame elder stood on his feet. It occured to him that his questions might be taken with some offense, and he wasn't exactly in friendly territory if so. Still, he had to ask it. "The hokage has reason to believe believe that there is a spy intercepting private conversations inside the residence of Hyuuga Hinata. We know that Shino had a bunch of his bugs in her apartment to, uh, help keep his teammates safe. We suspect that maybe another of the Aburame clan may have been inpersonating Shino to his bugs."

Shibi didn't answer for a very long time, and Naruto wasn't sure what was going on. After almost two whole minutes with no answer, Naruto slowly stepped forward and started waving his hand in front of the eyes to make sure he was awake.

Shino shifted nervously. "Um, Naruto..."

"I am not ignoring you, Naruto-dono. I am merely investigating," Shibi said. "And I know it was not one of us. Like the insects, the community of the Aburame is very hive-like. Shino is part of the team on Hinata and Kiba, and so that as a part of that team has become part of a second hive, in addition to the family hive. As a hive, however, we have decided to be neutral. Shino's protection of his teammates as a part of his second hive does not violate the neutrality of his central hive, but no-one whose loyalties were not divided would even consider taking as simple an action as spying on Hinata-san in violation of the hive decision. I used my bugs to consult with the bugs of those who might, in fact, have divided loyalties for another reason. None of them have done this action. No others of our clan would take such an action, either."

Naruto frowned. "Well, shoot. Then who's the spy?"

"I would not know, and can not help your investigation," Shibi replied, sounding genuinely remorseful. "My son, Shino, may take any action that does not bring our clan into this war -- including investigating this for you. But, as the Aburame Clan hive was not involved, it would strain the credibility of our declaration of neutrality if we were to go looking for those who are spying on her."

Naruto seemed to think about that. "But... but what proof do I have that your clan wasn't involved?"

Shibi cocked his head, crinkles in his forehead showing that he was narrowing his eyes. "I have explained to you that no member of the Aburame clan would do such a thing."

"Yeah, sure," Naruto agreed, nodding. "I know you explained why it's unlikely. But, see, thing is, we're all ninja. How do we know that that those hive members with 'divided loyalties' haven't taken their knowledge as experienced ninja, and hid from their own bugs what they had done? But perhaps there's a way to investigate the area, itself, and see if there's any evidence that will, ahem, clear those members of any suspicion..."

Shibi once again went silent, though this time even Naruto could see he was just thinking. "Again, Naruto-dono, there is no question I will be voting for your confirmation as hokage," he said, walking over to the door. "Let us clear my clan's name, shall we?"

* * *

One day's trip out of Blossom, Lee looked around to see that their camp for that night had finally been completed. It took longer than it should have -- in part, because the two genin teams were arguing with each other about which items were whose from the shared camping equipment. These sorts of things were common occurances among genin teams in their first multi-team exercise. Fortunately, Matsuri and Daichi were effective in preventing their respective teams from going to war with one another, and all that had been lost was some rations. Things were settling down, now, as people slowly gathered around the campfire to enjoy the luxury of having one while they were still permitted to have it.

"All right!" Lee cheered, taking his place at the head of the camp fire. "Good job, teams! I saw a lot of the fire of youth in you all!"

Most of Lee's chuunin's looked rather knowingly embarrassed, and Matsuri and Daichi looked a bit startled, but most of the genin present looked quite startled at the sudden exclamation. "What's going on?" one of them asked. "Why is Lee-sensei crazy?"

Lee blinked, hearing the genin but not able to tell which person it was who said it. Apparently, one of the new students had learned to talk without moving his mouth, which was a useful trait for any ninja. Still, he was glad he wouldn't have to discipline one of them -- he knew he was considered a bit... odd... by most people, and didn't particularly like disciplining those under him when they reacted to his wierdness.

"It's time to give you all your mission briefing. Your teams were hand-picked for this mission, so I know that your youthful energy will serve you well in this mission," he said, feigning ignorance of the insult. "You all know this mission is supposed to last a full month, but now you'll find out why. This mission comes from the daimyo, who tells us that he is recieving strange reports that some towns bordering Wave Country -- towns from both sides of the border. Unusual numbers of strangers going through towns, ususually large purchases of certain supplies being made, and the like. About a month ago, we found out a possible explanation for all of this -- one person mentioned to a man in the daimyo's employ that he was a part of a band of refugees fleeing from what we believe to be a series of disasters. But there is a lot that isn't known: Where all of these refugees are coming from, where they are going, and what -- exactly -- they are fleeing from. Our mission is a surveillance mission to infiltrate these towns, find whatever we can, and return to Blossom with a full report. Genin -- if a combat situation presents itself, no matter what the situation, you are to flee without using any ninja talents -- no-one is to know that any ninja are along this border. Even a bar fight could prove disastrous. Instead, find your team leader and report to them. Chuunin -- use your best judgement when it comes to fighting. Everyone -- if combat proves unavoidable, do your best to survive, but try to minimize any evidence that you are ninja, either during the fight or afterwards. And, above all else, do not antagonize the civilian population. Any questions?"

It was Matsuri who raised a tentative hand. "Lee-san... why were we hand-picked for this mission if we are not to engage in combat? You are a combat specialist. I am a combat specialist. Daichi is a combat specialist. Every member of our teams are combat specialists. Is something going on that you aren't telling us?"

Lee frowned. "Nothing that I am aware of. Tenten-chan asked me the same question. In my case, it was because this mission needed a jounin leader, and there are no jounin who are infiltration and surveillance experts not otherwise employed still residing in Blossom." He glanced at Matsuri. "I know there were other chuunin and genin who could be adequate surveillance experts -- Pansuke-chan being the biggest example, as she is unquestionably the top surveillance expert now in Blossom, yet is unemployed. But I trust Gai-sensei knew what he was doing when he picked us, so we'll carry out the mission to the best of our abilities. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes, sensei!" the assembled teams chirped.

Tears started falling from Lee's eyes. "Oh, Gai-sensei... if only you could see us now. The explosion of youth truly is glorious, isn't it?"

No-one said anything, but there was a great many eyes rolling at his behavior. Fortunately, his team was used to it, and once he had gone to bed for the night they were able to reassure everyone of Lee's competence. It would be a long trip for all of them, however.

* * *

Shibi frowned, glancing around the room. "So, Shino... what zones were your bugs told to patrol?"

Shino hesitated, but knew he had to do what his father said. Hinata was already wary around him, Kiba was ticked, and he could tell he was even on somewhat shaky ground with Naruto for his behavior. He didn't exactly want to remind everyone of his perversion, nor to get in trouble with his father. However, he had no choice. He pointed to several areas, hesitating only when he came to Hinata and Kiba's bedroom. "Here, here, here... and here."

Shibi cocked his head. "Okay, the door and window makes sense. And I think your decision to place bugs in the bedroom and the office were correct -- not every ninja will use the door, after all."

Shino relaxed slightly, pleased that his father didn't make an issue of his voyeurism, and that Kiba and Hinata were staying silent about it... for now. "Thank you father."

"But nothing in the kitchen? Nothing in the bathroom?"

Shino shook his head. "Those two rooms are interior rooms, whose walls only touch this apartment's interior or my neighboring residence. Given the security I place in my own condo, there was no way for any approach to escape my notice."

Hinata, supervising the investigation alongside Kiba and Naruto, glanced at the doors into those two rooms. It was true -- even going through walls, the only way into those rooms without crossing one of the regions Shino had said he was patrolling was to cut through Shino's condo. All of the other walls, though, were vulnerable... which meant she and Kiba would need to start securing them better.

Shibi walked into the kitchen followed by the younger people and frowned. "Kiba-san... can you enhance your nose for a moment?"

Kiba blinked. "Uh, sure."

"Do you smell anything... unusual in this room?"

Kiba sniffed, frowning. "Well, it's a kitchen, so there are a lot of scents around here. It's hard to tell what are normal cooking-related scents and what aren't."

"Try hard," Shibi replied. "It's important."

Kiba concentrated, seperating out the scent of various cleaning products first -- those were the strongest scents in the room, and therefore the most likely to mask whatever it was Shibi wanted him to find. Then he 'tuned out' the scent of stale food, the scent of gas vapers both burnt and unburned, the scent of some long-dead insects underneath their refridgerator, and on and on. Finally, he got to people -- first Naruto, Shibi, Shino, Hinata, Sakura, and himself; then those visitors he knew had been invited into the house; then Ino, whose scent just barely remained after she and Sakura had moved out years before. Kakashi, Tsunade, and various other people whose scent were weak enough he knew they had been visiting during Sakura and Ino's occupation of the condo were the last eliminated... and there was still one last scent remaining. And it was strong, and definitely a human scent, and it had been there for a while.

"Someone's been here. Someone I've never smelled, before," Kiba finally said. "They must have stayed here, off and on, for almost a year before they finally left... about the time Naruto came to town." He paused. "And the man was wearing materials only found, to the best of my knowledge, in the village of Rock."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "A Rock ninja? What were one of them doing here? No offense, Hinata-chan, but I wouldn't think you were important enough for them to bother with, even though you have become a leader of one of the Hyuuga clan's major factions."

Hinata shrugged. "I have never met anyone from Rock. I have no idea."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Shibi said. "Naruto-dono, I have determined that it was not an Aburame who was spying on Hinata-dono. However, as Kiba-san was able to confirm the findings that my bugs suspected when they smelled those elements we know only come from Rock, I am now of the belief that there was something going on here that is more than just the Hyuuga feud. I will consult with the hive, but I am fairly certain we will all agree with my decision: The Aburame must continue this investigation, not for Hinata-dono's sake but rather for the good of all of Konoha."

Naruto grinned. "Well, then... I'll be glad to be working with you, Shibi!"

* * *

Nanigoto Izure wasn't really sure what to make of the situation he now found himself in. He was born in Wave country, and had been part of the first class of genin at the Academy. Then, because he had a good eye for kunai and other types of shuriken, he was shipped off to Konoha to study weapons mastery under Tenten. Now a part of Tenten's team, he was once more back in Blossom as she had been assigned to his old home town. He still felt rather startled at how much the town had changed in his absence, but many things were still the same. The biggest industies outside of ninja were, before he left, were the brothel and a series of ramen restaurants that had been springing up. The ramen restaurants were still there, and the brothel was thriving as it had evolved into much more than just a brothel, but those places weren't the major industries any more. Thanks to the encouragement of Naruto and the marketing ability of Sakura's father, Blossom Steelworks was now the most sought-after brand when it came to professional chef's knives, chisels and carving tools, gardening equipment, and the like -- an industry bringing into the village almost as much money as the ninja work. Those industries were vital to the life of the village, especially as winters didn't generally bring in many missions and the coffers would be rather lean in the village during those coldest months of the year if there wasn't another industry to support it.

But Izure wasn't sure what to make of it. He had been astounded by Konoha when he first came to it, but over the years learned it wasn't a very pleasant place to live. The internal strife caused by the Hyuuga civil war combined with the aura of mystery surrounding much of Konoha's history made things very tense, and unless you were part of a clan there were very few places to relieve that tension. No-one was willing to teach him anything, either of Konoha's history, it's politics, even the names of its streets and the locations of its buildings. As he discovered when puberty first hit, even romance and sex was difficult in Konoha. How was he to know that the cute girl he'd caught in the shower during a prank was actually a young woman who had been pledged to marry a member of the Aburame clan since she was born, and that he'd have the entire clan after his blood if he so much as talked to her? He still had to be careful when walking Konoha's streets, or he'd get bitten by a mosquito four or five times a day.

Tenten, his instructor and the captain of his team, wasn't sure if she had a clan or not. She had been the daughter of a pair of ANBU, who both were killed on a secret mission for the organization. As ANBU members were wiped from historical texts and clan rolls if such an event occured, Tenten didn't even know her family name. However, this type of occurance had happened before, and ANBU became her clan following her parents demise, providing for her food and livelihood while helping her on her quest to become a ninja. She was taught no special techniques that might be traced back to any one family, but had been given access to a level of instruction in the field of weapons rarely offered to people not in ANBU. That knowledge, she had passed on to him... but the guardianship ANBU provided had not been.

Here, back in Blossom, things seemed so much more open and friendly, even if the level of secrecy was about the same. No real clan structure had been set up, so no inter-clan tensions occured. The people were proud of there history, and wherever allowed they would gladly spend hours rattling off on the great workings Blossom had managed. If he didn't know where something was, a friendly stranger would gladly tell him. Even in training, he was learning more than he would ever have learned in Konoha -- while Tenten was obviously the greatest weapons expert alive, with no piers in Konoha or Blossom or anywhere else, there were things she didn't know. From the head of the hospital, Shizune, he was learning how to conceal weapons much better than Tenten could. He had also been told, by Tenten herself, that his old classroom instructor, Haruno, would be able to teach him ways to care for his blades that had been lost to the masses for decades. Politics was a bit of a mystery, it was true, but everyone assured him that he knew about as much as they did. And, well, outside of the odd angry parent or older brother, there weren't any major clans around to try and suck his blood dry with mosquitos and leeches if he even made eye contact with a girl... or if they did with him. All in all, it should be a pleasant experience.

But it had been so frustrating, being a stranger to everyone. This was his home town, now -- his younger sister was a student at the Academy, his older sister was a civilian nurse at the hospital, and his parents ran a flower shop that had been set up for them by Yamanaka Ino, who had experience running one in Konoha. He had spent a year of his life here, and had helped to build several of the buildings that were now workshops or stores or residences. However, everything had changed so much...

His thoughts were interrupted as Tenten finally showed up at the training ground. She was never late -- never that Izure ever knew of, anyway -- but she often set a range of time in which she could arrive rather than an exact time, and she had been pushing it today. "Hello, Tenten-sensei," he said, bowing in a respectful greeting. "What do you have for me, today?"

Tenten glanced around, sighing. "Well, your teammates are both off on solo class-C missions, so it's just you and me today. Normally on a day like this, I know we'd train, but without any missions on the horizon I would like to ask that we take the next few days off."

Izure was surprised at that, but nodded nonetheless. "You are the sensei, you do not have to ask me for permission to take a day off. May I ask why, however?"

Tenten sighed. "I'm missing... an old friend of mine, I guess you'd call him. I was thinking about getting rip-roaring drunk and starting a bar fight in his honor."

Rolling his eyes knowingly, Izure couldn't quite surpress the chuckle from escaping him. "Missing Lee-sensei, huh? Well, I'd join you, but it isn't exactly legal for children my age."

Tenten considered him briefly. "And how old are you, anyway?"

Izure blinked. "Um... you know, I actually don't know? I've been too busy to think about birthdays or anything like that for years, and no-one in Konoha or Blossom ever knew, at least not until my parents moved in after I left. I seem to recall it was some time in March..."

"Never mind," Tenten laughed. "I'm pretty sure you're right, and you're under twenty. You weren't even a teenager when we first met, and that was only... what, four, three years ago?"

Izure shook his head. "Something like that, I believe."

"Well, I've always thought the drinking age was a silly thing to enforce for a ninja," Tenten said, pulling Izure into town by the arm. "If you're old enough to fight to the death for a mission, you should be old enough for any of the vices of life. I'm not one who usually encourages drinking, as you know, but I've imbibed a few on occasion... and I'm pretty sure I was younger than you when I had my first bottle of sake. Come on, let's get drunk... in honor of Lee-kun."

"In honor of Lee-sensei," Izure agreed, though he didn't know Lee that well. "I accept your invitation."

* * *

"Just what is going on, here?" the Hyuuga matriarch demanded. She had been left waiting outside of the office of Aburame Shibi -- one of the principle leaders of the Aburame clan -- for hours, and every minute had been growing more frustrated. It didn't help that, every time she looked through the wall with her byakugan, all he was doing was meditating. "I hear there are suddenly dozens of your clan encircling the complex of apartments and condos in which Hinata live. They are denying my people access to the area. Is this not a violation of your neutrality?"

Shibi cocked his head at her knowingly. "I will not ask why your people were trying to get into that compound, Hyuuga-dono. Regardless, nothing we are doing has any relation to the feud splitting your clan apart, and therefore we see no violation of neutrality."

"Nothing that has any relation to the feud?" Hyuuga-sama echoed disbelievingly. "You're protecting Hinata from us!"

Shibi frowned. "That may be the effect of what we are doing, but we are not protecting her because we have chosen any sides in this conflict."

"Then why are you?" she screeched.

The Aburame leader cocked his head, almost looking amused at her anger. That was unlikely, however -- Shibi Aburame was known for not having a sense of humor. "Again, we are trying to maintain neutrality in your conflict. The reason we are, however, does not mean that some of us do not favor certain sides, but rather that we feel the safety of Konoha is more important than getting involved in the squables of one clan, no matter if that clan is a historic ally or not. We have determined a foriegn ninja from the village of Rock has been spying on Hinata. Because of this, we are now making a serious effort to find him or her, determine why he was here, and to prevent further foriegn incursions. Consequentially, that means putting all the residents of that condo complex -- including Hinata-dono -- under our watch and protection until such time as our investigation is complete. When we have found the Rock ninja, or have confirmed that he is no longer in Konoha, we will remove this protection."

Hyuuga-sama barely restrained herself from killing him, but then stormed out of the residence and took the shortest route out of the Aburame district. Shino stepped out of the shadows he had hid himself in, watching her go.

"Do you see, now, why I sided with Hinata-chan in this conflict, father?" Shino asked softly.

"I knew why you had from the moment you made that choice, Shino," Shibi replied. "But I also knew it was in our clan's interest not to get involved, and that the majority of our clan who would side with her. We are much like the Hyuuga clan, cold and arrogant, and traditionalists to a fault. Had I tried to get the hive to decide in Hinata-dono's favor, it would have backfired. Hiashi's faction would have been acceptable to most of our clan, but there was still much danger of dissention if we were to pick his side. No, neutrality was the best thing we could do for our clan, and it was the best I could deliver in support of Hinata-dono. And I could only do that because of your association with her -- as my only child, the clan would not wish to put you in a position where you would have no choice other than to rebel. However, trying to force them to help you would make them rebel. I could get neutrality from the pro-matriarch members of our clan... but nothing more than that."

Shino nodded. "I see, father. And now?"

"Now, all the clan can see that there was a Rock nin inside of Hinata-dono's residence. There are few reasons why that might be, but undoubtedly our clan members know..."

"Know what?" Shino asked, curious.

"There are only two real reasons for spying on Hinata-dono. One is to try and capture her eyes... but we know that the spy has already left, no attempt has been made, and there was no information he could have gathered to make such an attempt." Shibi paused. "Which means it is option two. He was spying on the behest of someone else... and I think it is pretty obvious who that someone else was, don't you?"

Shino frowned. "But if the Matriarch is making deals with the Rock, then should we not tell the hokage?"

"We have no proof," Shibi pointed out. "But now, everyone in the clan can see that she bears watching. And watch her we shall." He paused. "By the way, Shino..."

"Yes, father?"

"I know it was difficult for you, with your future wife killed during the Sand-Sound war. However, that is no excuse for spying on your friends..."

Shino flushed. So his father wasn't quite so oblivious as he'd hoped. "My apologies, father. It... will not happen again."

"We are still looking for a possible replacement mate for you, Shino. Do not lose patience."

"Yes, father."

* * *

"I'm home," Naruto called, entering their temporary apartment in the Hokage's tower.

"Welcome back," Sakura called from a side room. "You missed my mother."

"Well, that's too bad, I-- wait, your mother was here?" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura's laughed echoed through the apartment. "Yeah. She brought over our stuff from Blossom, but she had to leave right away -- she wants to get back in time for the next semester at Blossom's Academy to open."

"So your parents are staying in Blossom?" Naruto asked, sounding somewhat sad.

"She said they'll visit frequently," Sakura replied, sounding a little saddened herself. "So it's not like we'll never see them. But yeah, Mom said they've formed a life in Blossom, so they'll be staying there." She paused. "But we were talking, and I'd like to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Naruto replied. "What?"

Sakura stepped into the room, arms raised to show off the bracers she was wearing, a shy smile on her face. "How about we get married, huh?"

* * *

Next chapter: The wedding, the drunken brawl, and the Hiashi-Hinata Negotiations.

(again, no clue when the next chapter will come out, but it'll come in time. Might take a year, might take a day, we'll see)


	69. V4 Chapter 9

Volume 4

Chapter 9

* * *

Ino couldn't believe what she was hearing -- not because she thought it would never happen, but because she figured she would have much more warning than this. "You want me to be your maid of honor?"

Sakura laughed, stirring her tea. They had met for 'tea and sweets' at a small outdoor odango stand with a great view of the hokage monuments. "Well, not quite. We're having a very small, very fast ceremony, and there's not really going to be a 'best man' or maid of honor.' We do need a few witnesses, however, and I'd like you to be one of them."

Ino frowned. "Are you pregnant, Sakura-chan? Is that why you're rushing?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Ino-pig, I'll remind you that I'm one of the best medical ninja in history. There is no way I can become pregnant if I don't want to."

"Then... what's the hurry?" Ino asked, curious. "Your parents aren't even here to help you celebrate, and I don't see any need to rush..."

"Mom and I talked about it extensively last night. Initially, I was just going to start wearing my bracers and stop hiding our engagement. In fact, mom left town thinking that was all I was going to do... but she gave me a parting line that had me deciding to get married sooner rather than later," Sakura explained.

"What was that line?" Ino asked.

Sakura glanced over her shoulder, to glance at the stone face of the Fourth Hokage. "Right now, Naruto is still an ordinary man, and as an ordinary man can have an ordinary wedding to an ordinary wife in whatever way he wants. In a few months, however, he becomes Hokage. A hokage is not an ordinary man, he cannot have an ordinary wedding, he may not even be able to choose his own wife." She paused. "I don't want to make the same mistakes the lovers of certain former hokages made, and fail to marry the man I'm in love with."

Ino looked at her surprised. "Well... you still have a few months. Don't you want your parents here?"

"This is Konoha, not Blossom," Sakura pointed out. "He's been ensconced in the hokage's tower or in meetings since he's arrived, so he hasn't been around town much... but you know, better than anyone, how this village thinks of him."

Ino winced. Over the years, the real Naruto had grown very different from the 'Inner Naruto' she had running around in her system. However, the memories from his treatment by the citizens of Konoha still echoed in both of their memories. "Yeah."

"Well, I want to give this village a message," Sakura continued. "I want them to know that Naruto is a great man... and that he's my man. This seal on my belly may tell them something of that, but I want to marry him and prove that that I am not just the person who shares his seal, but I am also someone who loves him." She paused. "I will defy those who hate him by marrying him now... before we move into my parents' old house, and he is exposed once more to those who hate him. I've got other reasons, too, all dealing with him becoming hokage, but I can't tell you about those. They might affect the vote confirming him, and I can't chance that."

Ino blinked, surprised at the additional news. "Well, you know I'll want to be at your wedding. When is it, exactly?"

"Tomorrow night," Sakura said. "Naruto wanted today to talk to a few others he wanted at the ceremony."

* * *

"Ya know, a ninjer's life ish too short to not go fer it some uv th' time," Tenten slurred. 

Izure, looking a little green, knew that could only mean one thing. "Am I going to die?"

"Nah," Tenten hiccuped. "Ya'll jussht puke yer guts out in th' morning." For some reason, she cackled like that was the funniest thing in the world.

"Oog," Izure burped, crying a little. He wasn't slurring his words, though he didn't seem quite aware of what he was saying. "I didn't want to die a virgin!"

Tenten looked over at him, glancing him up and down. "Hm... yer a viiirgin, you shay? Heh... what a shhame. A boy ash pretty ash youse are shhouldn't be a viiirgin."

Izure downed another glass full of sake -- his tenth one, though no-one had been counting -- and sighed. "I really liked that Aburame girl. Hot chick, looked real good naked. Too bad her fiance got so jealous that I was attacked by mosquitos every time I even looked at a girl, especially one of the ones 'belonging' to the Aburame."

"Th' Aburrrrame are jerks," Tenten spat, then swallowed a shot of sake herself. "Good to have as yer friends, but the ones whish aren't yer friends are all jerks!" She paused. "Buuut, a ninjer yer age shouldn't be a viiirgin, ya know? Ya sh'lda found a nice girrrl ta break ya in geenntly, ya know? No ninjer yer age shud be a viiirgin." She paused, squinting hard as she tried to think of something. "Hey, wait! I'ma viiirgin, too! Wah!"

Izure glanced at her briefly. "We could always fix that..."

"Nah, not with ya. Don't get me wrrrong, yer a nice boy an' all, but too young fer me, 'n I gotta couple guys in mind," Tenten said, looking up as her tears mysteriously dried immediately. "But maybe there's a better opshun for ya, out there."

"A friend of mine in Konoha said that the next best thing to being with a girl was stealing her panties," Izure said slowly. "I'm not sure that's a better option, though."

"Nah, thash not what I mean, though if ya want 'em," Tenten slurred. Reaching under her pants, she tore her panties' waistband off on either hip, then ripped them the rest of the way off. Then, she stuffed them into his hand. "Heres ya go. Now, if ya wanna opshun that actually means ya won't be a viiirgin any more, I can help ya..."

Coughing gently, a waiter stepped up to their table. "Forgive me, Tenten-san, but I'm going to have to cut you off. You've drunk more than enough -- it's only because you're one of our ninja that we've let you drink this much."

"Shuuut uuup!" Tenten growled, swinging her arm to send hundreds of kunai flying his way. Within seconds, the waiter was pinned to the wall, knives at his sleeves, leg cuffs, lapels, and a quarter inch from his crotch. Ignoring her victim, Tenten staggered to her feet. "C'mon, Ishure-chaaan. I've gotta idear fer ya."

* * *

"Naruto-kun!" Anko said, greeting the blond-haired young man at the door of her residence. She had moved out of the Hokage's tower into her old home shortly after Naruto first woke up, and hadn't even known that he knew where she lived. "What are you doing here?" 

Naruto had the biggest grin she'd ever seen on his face -- reminding her painfully of his father in happier times. "Can I come in and talk with you? I've already met with the ramen chef, Ayame-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Gaara, the blonde porcupine girl who's sleeping with Shikamaru, Jiraiya, the old hag, everyone from Blossom, and all of my classmates from the 'Rookie Nine' who are in the village, and you're the last one I need to meet with."

Anko was momentarily startled at how serious he was about talking with her, thinking he had found out about her being his mother. The list of people he gave, however, convinced her not to worry. "Sure, come on in. What brings you here?"

"I'm getting married," Naruto explained, still smiling. "And I'd like you to be there."

Anko blinked. "Um, yeah. I'd love to! A bit surprised Sakura-chan gave in already. When is it?"

"Tonight," Naruto replied, his smile growing wider. "Sakura-chan said she doesn't want to wait any more, and so we aren't waiting." His smile slipped a little. "She said she was worried the council wouldn't let us get married if we tried to do so after I became hokage. I'm not sure I like getting married now because of that, but at least we're getting married. I've been out since last night trying to find everyone and letting them all know."

Anko's chest tightened, remembering her own secret meeting with the council about a very similar-looking hokage-designate. "Well, she's right about that. The council is... not exactly the hokage's ally in the world of romance."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. After all, that's why you never married dad, isn't it?"

Anko stiffened. "Who... how..."

"I figured it out pretty quick," Naruto sighed, taking a seat. He'd made her condo his last stop for a reason, after all. "Sakura-chan and the old hag told me they were sworn to secrecy regarding who my mother was, which made it pretty obvious that my mother was still alive. I also figured out that the only time Sakura-chan would have had a chance to make that oath of secrecy was when we all were in Blossom. That quickly dropped it to three people -- Haruno-san, Shizune-chan, and you. Shizune wasn't in town when I was born, and Sakura-chan promised me that she wasn't my sister."

Anko nodded slowly. "Yeah. Um, Naruto-kun--"

"Just Naruto," he corrected. "You are my mother, after all."

She sighed. "Naruto, then. I'd like to apologize. I... I really believed you were the kyuubi, you know. I really hated you, because I figured you were the killer of my husband taking the body of my son. I later... uh, discovered that you weren't the kyuubi, after all."

"He's a part of me," Naruto pointed out. "He isn't all of me, however, and the part of me that isn't him usually has control of this body. Even he wouldn't bother any of the villagers, now -- I think I've been sort of 'taking over' him, and not the other way around as everyone feared."

"I know," Anko said. "But by the time I found out, I knew I could never be your mother. Being your mother would have ruined all of your dreams." She paused. "Being the host of kyuubi is enough to overcome on the path to hokage. You should not have to also overcome the indignity of being the son of a traitor."

Naruto shook his head sadly. "I would have made it work. I always do."

Anko couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I was doing what I thought was best for you. At least, I think I was."

Naruto turned her face to see him and smiled at her. "Hey, you've been helping Sakura-chan learn a lot over the years -- she really needed a genjutsu instructor after Yuugao skipped town, and you stepped up for her. Helping her like that will be better for me, in the long run, than if you'd been trying to act like a mother to me. You probably didn't have a clue where to begin, when it came to being a mother, did you?"

"Not a clue," she admitted, a small smile forced out of her by his forgiving tone. "Especially not how to be a mother to a full-grown young man who was already setting out in life."

"Well, I've done all right, I think," Naruto said, leaning back in his chair. "You've gone to all this trouble to keep this a secret in order to help me, I won't make you be my mother and ruin all of that. But there is something I would like from you..."

"What?" Anko asked.

"Tell me about my father," Naruto said. "I mean the real man -- not the legend we all read in the history books. Would he have... would he have liked me?"

Anko teared up. "Oh... oh, I think he would have. Arashi was a wonderful man, very talented and dedicated, a lot like you -- you probably inherited that from him, since I'm a lot more lazy than you'll ever be. He was a little perverted when I first met him, because our sensei was a real big pervert and gave him a bunch of bad habits, but I was able to break him of that habit. I met him when he was about the same age you were during the chuunin exam, and it's astonishing how much you looked just like him..."

* * *

"Kireme-senshei!" Tenten bellowed at the top of her voice, dragging the unwitting Izure behind her. "Kireme-shensei! Where're ya?" 

Kireme walked into the foyer, summoned by the call. She was stopped at the door by the madame.

"Careful, it's one of your kunoichi students, and she's totally sloshed. God only knows what she's here for," the madame warned.

"I can handle it," Kireme replied confidently, though given what she'd seen of Tenten's marksmanship she doubted it. "Best to appease her, now, before she goes on a bloody rampage."

The madame paled. "Just take care of it. Kunoichi are difficult for us to deal with when they're sober -- I've never encountered a drunk kunoichi in this establishment. Drunken male ninja, sure -- our best custumers -- but never a kunoichi."

"I told you, I can handle it. Now clear out," Kireme insisted impatiently. The madame quickly disappeared, leaving Kireme alone to deal with the situation. She stepped out into the room. "Um, hi, Tenten-chan. What can I do for you?"

Tenten, barely able to keep herself upright, nearly dropped her student to the floor as she dragged him in front of her to make a proper introduction. "Thish is Ishure-chan, my faaavorite student. He'sh a fffff... a ffff... a viiirgin. I wantsh ya to fix that for 'em, 'kay? I'll take care've m'self afffter Lee-k-kun comes back, but I won't let m'team suvver wivvout thish short of thing."

Kireme swallowed slightly. Izure was looking rather ill, but he looked a touch more sober than his sensei. He also seemed completely unaware of what she was asking Kireme to do for him, and likely wouldn't remember it if she did perform the service.

"Um, right. Can do," Kireme agreed, deciding to play along. She snapped her fingers in a pre-arranged pattern to call for a particular girl. Whispering in the girl's ears, she arranged for Izure to be taken to a room where he could be sobered up, and ordered the girl to stay with him and help him when he inevitably became sick. It was not a pleasant task, but -- running the brothel ethically -- they had often found themselves sobering up people who were really too far gone to enjoy their service, and so it was something they were used to. And, assuming he didn't object, it wasn't like he'd be leaving the brothel as a virgin, after all -- Tenten had demanded a certain service be provided to her student, and that service would be given once the boy was healthy enough to understand what was happening to him. The girl sent with him, as Kireme had been years before when she had her first encounter with a ninja of Konoha, was specialized in helping relieve young men of their virginal status, and according to Kireme's records the boy was healthy and legal. There was little chance he'd object to it, at any rate, but they would make sure he was stone cold sober before they tried anything.

Tenten would be billed, of course, and she wouldn't contest it even if she'd made the request while dead drunk and out of her mind -- which she was. However, there was the little point of waiting until Tenten was sober to discuss the matter with her.

"Now... howsh abouts we talksh about the classh, hun?"

Kireme plastered a smile on her face to humor the drunken kunoichi. "Of course, Tenten-chan. What do you want to know?"

"Thanksh to yer clash, I'll be shafe from makin' babies wif Lee-kun when he getsh back," Tenten pointed out. "And I'm a viiirgin, too. I wantsh him to fix me o' that problem, ya know. Neji-kun was my firsht choice, but the firth choice ishn't always besht, ya know?"

Kireme took a deep breath. "Tenten-chan... you do know you're drunk, right?"

"O'coursh! I wanned ta be drunk! Lee-kun hashta get drunk ta fight, now, an' I wanned to be wif him in shpirit, even if I couldn't be in truth." She paused. "Er, I thinks that wa' why I wanned to get drunk, anyway. Not shure why virginity got involved an' all that. But shinsh it did, I wanned to ashk if ya'd help m' figerr ou' a problem..."

Kireme could tell that Tenten was nearing the end of her drunken ramblings, and was about to pass out. A more subtle signal had one of her girls 'conveniently' place themselves to catch the kunoichi when she fell. Best to keep her talking until she did, though. "And what is that?"

"Ya gotta know -- yer the ecshperienced one an' all. How the heck doesh dat silly green shpandeksh come off, anyway?"

Kireme didn't know what to answer, but she was saved from having to as Tenten finally succumbed to the alchohol.

"Geez," she whispered, seeing the drunken kunoichi slumber in the arms of the girl Kireme had arranged to catch her. "Wonder what that is all about? And why can't Lee-kun fight without being drunk -- I thought he was supposed to be a taijutsu master?" She shook her head, clearing it of those thoughts. "Never mind. Go put her in one of our normal unoccupied room and let her sleep it off. Lock the door, too, in case someone thinks about taking advantage of her. I'll come see her in the morning, and we'll clear this whole mess up."

"Of course, Kireme-chan," the girl said, struggling to stand up. "But, uh, I'm not as strong as you are. I'm only used to dealing with conscious drunkards -- any chance you could help me move her?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kireme laughed. "I guess I keep forgetting I'm a ninja, now, and I'm supposed to be able to carry three Tentens single-handed, huh? Sadly, I'm not a very good ninja, so while I'll help, I can't carry her that far alone, either. Come on, we've got the rest of the night and a bunch of customers who probably don't want to be kept waiting."

* * *

Tsunade supervised the ceremonial sharing of the sake cup between Naruto and Sakura with a rather uncertain eye. She was technically running the event, but she had never done this part of a wedding before. Heck, she'd never done any part of a wedding, before, though as hokage she'd had license to do so for years. She'd always turned down requests to be part of a marriage ceremony, citing her workload (which really was massive) but really refusing because she didn't like weddings. She wouldn't have missed this one for the world, however, and couldn't turn down the request these two -- the two people who Tsunade thought of most as her children in all the world (or possibly grandchildren, given the age difference, but close enough) -- made of her to officiate it. Fortunately, they had chosed to have this wedding with the short form, simple ceremony where all she needed to do was watch for the moment they were done, pronounce them married, and certify their wedding certificate. Unlike the disaster that befell the Fourth and Anko during their failed marriage application decades before, Tsunade made sure that this particular marriage certificate could not be contested, even if the entire council wanted it nullified. 

Sakura was wearing her kyuubi-accented dress, the one that she wore on her first real date with Naruto and which she had been placed in storage before she left Konoha for Blossom all those years ago. Astonishingly, while it needed some alterations, there was enough material to make it work. Black was an odd color for a wedding dress, but the kyuubi accents were the big selling point of it, and Naruto seemed to really appreciate it.

While it was a hastily arranged, and not very formal, ceremony, the guest list was sizable. Every one of the rookie nine still present, Anko and all the others from Blossom, many Inuzuka dogs, the former owners of the Ichiraku, a large number of jounin instructors including Kakashi, Iruka, Kurenei, and Asuma, and many others of note were in attendance. What surprised Tsunade the most, however, was the number of council members actually in attendence. Aburame Shibi, the voting representative of the Aburame clan, was sitting next to Hyuuga Hiashi, one third of the representation the Hyuuga clan had on the council (the clan only had one vote, but the clan's 'one vote' came by a seperate, majority vote between representatives of the three factions). Hinata, another third of the Hyuuga clan's representation, was also present. So were the heads of the Nara clan, the Yamanaka clan, the Inuzuka clan, the Sarutobi clan, and the Akimichi clan. There were currently twenty-one clans with representatives in the council (and four empty seats vacated by the Uzumaki, Uchiha, Anraku, and the Haruno clan -- which had all its council representative living in Blossom for the past several years), so it looked promising for Naruto's confirmation that one third of the council members had come to his wedding.

And it wasn't like other clans weren't represented, as well. The Hatake clan was rather small, now, but Kakashi was the most prominent member of that clan. The Mitarashi clan rarely got involved in Konoha's internal politics, but they had supported Anko during her trial for treason, and they would likely have made her their council representative themselves had it been possible. That made it nine out of twenty one...

Lost in her thoughts on the political situation she was facing, Tsunade failed to notice when Naruto and Sakura had finished the ceremonial sharing of the sake and had turned towards her expectantly. A not-as-subtle-as-she'd-like clearing of the throat by Kakashi brought her attention back to her job. In the civilian form of this ceremony, it would be over, and all that would have been left was the signing of the marriage contract. However, marraiges between ninja had an added piece of the ceremony that she needed to handle. "Ah, yes. Vows between ninja are vows not meant to be broken. By marrying this man, Sakura, you can never be assigned a mission which would compromise your vows to him. By marrying this woman, Naruto, you can never be assigned a mission which will compromise your vows to her. Do you accept these limitations?"

"We do," Naruto and Sakura chorused.

"The lives of most ninja are short, and the risk of being widowed is great. Do you both accept this risk?"

"We do."

"When one ninja marries, he has an option... but when two marry, the couple must raise any children they may have to be ninja as well, by custom if not by law. Do you accept this responsibility?"

"We do."

Tsunade smiled grimly, then handed both of the pair a hanko. "Then, sign this document. We will record and recognize the marriage between these two ninja, for as long as our lives last and our village thrives."

Sakura seemed a little nervous, but her stamp was clearly legible. Naruto was not so nervous, it appeared... but being quite determined, he almost made a mess of things when he delivered his stamp with such force it nearly broke the table the document was resting on. It, too, was legible, however. Tsunade took out her own, oversized hanko, and stamped it in the appropriate place for the officiant, sealing the document so that even the council could not anul it. "Then, Naruto and Sakura, rise -- for you are now man and wife, for as long as you live.

* * *

"Oh... my head," Tenten moaned. 

"You're awake earlier than I expected," came a familiar voice, but thanks to a massive headache and a distractingly queasy stomache, Tenten couldn't place it. "Here."

Tenten let her eyes just open to see a rehydration pill fall into one of her hands. They were intended to save the lives of ninja who had gone without water for days on end... but they were also excellent hangover cures. "Thanks," she muttered, swallowing the pill whole. It would take about two minutes to start working, but that would get her over her hangover much faster than normal.

"You showed up at three a.m. this morning, more drunk than I'd ever seen a kunoichi get before," the voice said. "You've slept all day, and missed class this evening."

That helped the ninja girl identify the speaker, but she couldn't be certain until she opened her eyes. "Kireme-sensei?"

"Your student is probably being serviced as we speak," Kireme pointed out wryly. "We'll have to discuss payment on that."

"Student?" Tenten repeated, still not entirely with it.

"Izure-chan. You brought him over, last night, when both of you were in a drunken stupor. Said he was a virgin, and demanded that we 'fix that for him.' Drunk you may have been, but as a ninja you know you are liable for the requests you make when you are drunk," Kireme explained.

Tenten's eyes widened, now coming to her senses. "I didn't... did I?"

"Then, you started babbling on about wanting to be 'safe from making babies' so that Lee could help you with that problem, too," Kireme reminded her. "Which is amusing, and embarrasing, I know, but you revealed something I don't think you intended to when you said it."

Tenten blushed. "That I, uh, like Lee-kun?"

"Well, that too," Kireme agreed, briefly amused. "You seemed to like Neji, too, but felt he was unattainable."

"Well, yeah," Tenten admitted. "Lee's sweet, and I've grown fond of him despite the odd personality quirks and those wierd eyebrows of his, but Neji is hot, and smart, and we work well together. If I were to be completely honest, I'm quite attracted to both of them. Do I love either of them? Probably not, but I'm not looking for a committed relationship, now, anyway." Something occured to her -- a vague memory of something said the night before. "Like others, I guess I just don't want to die a virgin, and I take a lot of chances with my life. I'm attracted to both of them, so I'll gladly take either one I can get, and Lee... just seems so much more approachable about it."

"All fine reasons," Kireme laughed. "I'm not going to complain. After all, it's not like I would have any leg to stand on, is it? Not all girls are cut out for monogamy, and not all of the girls who take many lovers would be okay working in a brothel. I imagine it wouldn't be too bad if you were to 'try out' both of them -- as long as they understood you weren't trying to make a lifetime commitment to them in the process, but at least consider committing to your first. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"It isn't?" Tenten said, surprised. Kireme so often seemed like such a prim and proper woman, it was easy to forget her profession sometimes. However, thinking about it, Tenten realized that she would never complain about a girl going after two boys -- it wouldn't make any sense for her to do so. "Of course it isn't. What's the matter?"

"You said something last night about Lee-san 'needing to be drunk' in order to fight. Now, I know he's got a good fighting style that requires he be drunk, but I was under the impression he had a lot of other options as well," Kireme pointed out. Sending Tenten a piercing glance that would brook no deception, she asked, "Is something going on with him? Many of the businesses of Blossom -- the brothel included -- have been put on watch, because there were concerns about him becoming too much of a lush to be effective on duty. This sounds like you might know why."

Tenten froze for a moment, trying to think of how to answer. "I am sworn to secrecy," she finally decided upon.

Kireme stiffened. That told her there was actually something to it, then. "I see. Well, I hope you don't regret this oath, then... I'd hate to lose someone I cared about because I was keeping a secret for them."

Tenten nodded slowly. "I hope I don't regret it, either."

"Then," Kireme sighed. "I suppose the only thing I have left to ask is... do you actually have the cash to pay for the service we're providing for Izure-chan, or are we going to have to dock your pay? And once that's settled... well, I'm not sure about green, but I do have some experience in removing spandex off of another person, if you're still interested..."

* * *

The wedding reception was in full swing, and Naruto and Sakura were making their final rounds before they departed for their 'honeymoon,' which was really just a week together in an undisclosed location, with no missions or (official) obligations in Konoha burdening them. It wasn't exactly the best of times to be taking a vacation, but it couldn't really be helped. Better now than after Naruto had the confirmation vote for, or worse the actual job of, Hokage to take care of. And it wasn't as if anyone who knew him could begrudge Naruto his honeymoon with the girl he had loved for so long. 

There was a lot that they had learned during this final round of chats. The head of the Sarutobi clan was retiring, soon, and Asuma would be taking his place before the vote. Konohamaru and Moegi's son, Dashi, had been welcomed heartily by both the Sarutobi and the Akimichi clans, and both clans were quite pleased with the new alliance between them. There had been a lot of innuendo-laden discussions about which clan would be babysitting the child while Konohamaru had to deal with Moegi -- after all, it was now fairly well known how her own libido was affected by Naruto and Sakura, and... well, a honeymoon did tend to result in that sort of thing.

Teuchi, the retired chef of the Ichiraku, seemed quite interested in Naruto's effort to become hokage. He had been discussing something secret with Tsunade, the newlyweds could tell, because Ayame was keeping them from joining in on the conversation between the current hokage and the chef. Finally, however, Naruto was allowed to come up and talk with his favorite ramen chef, and any concerns about whatever he was keeping secret could be laid aside for another day. After all, what big secrets could a retired ramen chef really have? Naruto figured the conversation had something to do with a more public reception being planned after their return -- this particular wedding reception, the 'real' reception in the minds of both of the couple, was only for the invited guests; the village would want another one for their hokage-designate once they were back, however.

Anko gushed over Sakura's wedding dress, remarking on how appropriate it seemed despite the color. Naruto couldn't help from cheekily commenting that it would look real good on the floor that night, too. That earned him a playfully stern glare from his new wife, as she admonished him for 'giving people the right idea!'

Ino was twitching nervously about something when they got to her. They tried to find out what was wrong, but she couldn't seem to explain it. Finally, she leaned over and whispered something in Naruto's ear. Nodding in understanding, he agreed with whatever it was she had proposed, and stepped back.

"Naruto Bunshin no Jutsu!" she called, summoning the thirteen year old version of a Naruto clone.

The clone looked up at his 'original model' with a sad smile. "You got her, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," the real Naruto replied. "Sorry, brother, but you know you'd never have managed it. You're too young for her, now, and you just can't exist long enough."

"I know," the clone replied, turning sad eyes on Sakura. "You better be happy with him, Sakura-chan. I know you don't like me as much, but I would do anything to make sure you're happy, too."

Sakura, who was shorter than the real Naruto but still much taller than this clone, bent down and ruffled his hair. "Oh, I like you well enough," she said, giving him a kiss to the forehead. "Maybe, someday, I'll get Ino to get the current Naruto's memories so that you'll know just how much."

Gaping at her, the clone rubbed the spot where she kissed him unbelievingly. "I... I... well, no need, Sakura-chan," he finally managed to get out. "That's the best memory I'll ever have."

With a pop, the clone disappeared. Naruto glanced over at Ino as she reabsorbed the clone's memories. "I hope you don't mind me calling him 'brother,' Ino-chan, but I can't imagine what else to call him."

Ino laughed. "I don't mind. You're as much of a brother as I suspect I'll ever have. Just remember to use the right pronoun when talking with me, and not with my clone."

"Cousin is more like it, anyway," Inoichi said, stepping up to join them. "We did some research, and it seems your grandfather had a sister who married into our clan, Naruto-kun. The Yamanaka and the Uzumaki have long been allies, though, so it shouldn't be a surprise." He paused. "I was reading a story from her past, and it seems your great-aunt had been trying to choose between a Haruno boy and an Yamanaka boy at the time, and settled on the Yamanaka boy. Probably a good thing, too, for you and Sakura-chan."

"I guess this makes us in-laws, huh, Sakura-chan?" Ino pointed out, laughing. "Don't mistreat my cousin, then, or I might have to get tough with you."

Naruto sighed wistfully. "Actually, Ino-chan, I like it when Sakura-chan mistreats me, sometimes."

Sakura blushed. "I told you, Naruto, quit giving people the right idea!"

They moved on as the Yamanakas dissolved in laughter, Sakura pretending to berate Naruto the entire time. In fact, she was just as amused as they -- if a little bit more embarrassed -- and her heart felt warmed, seeing that her long-time friend had finally reconciled completely with her parents. Things had been quite strained between them when she left for Blossom, but it seemed as if the time and distance mended the wound.

Tsunade and Jiraiya both gave the expected moderately perverse advice for the honeymoon. Tsunade's suggestion of strip poker (which made Jiraiya gawk, as he never thought the woman had it in her) was met with grumbling as Sakura explained Naruto was too good a gambler. Jiraiya's gift of an Icha Icha Paradise boxed set was returned rather forcefully, as Sakura clonked him over the head with it.

Kakashi had arrived late, but had been there for the final vows. He seemed decidedly uncomfortable during the event -- not as if he was unhappy for the couple, but rather as if he had no idea what to do or say about it. Naruto took pity on him -- or just didn't realize his distress -- and gave him a firm handshake before moving on.

Anko was also a wreck, but in the opposite direction. She babbled on about crying at weddings, gave both of them such firm hugs that their backs ached, babbled some more about how happy she was, and so on. Sakura seemed a little taken aback, but Naruto -- as he always did -- endured.

The Wave-born ninja from Blossom were quite enthusiastic in their congratulations. Sakura and Naruto both recieved hugs from them all. Hanabi, staying in the corner with her lovers, gave a humble bow to Naruto, a sure sign of how far she had come from the young genin who believed that no-one could be good enough to deserve any real respect from the Hyuuga.

Shikamaru, Gaara, and Temari were all in a group as they gave their respects. One bit of news that they learned was that Temari had -- with feigned reluctance, though in truth she didn't mind -- been ordered by Gaara to 'solidify the alliance between Konoha and the Sand with a marriage to a scion of one of it noblest clans,' or in other words he'd told her to marry Shikamaru and stop making everyone miserable about the whole mess or he'd kill them. A bit of a deranged way of arranging a marriage, but Shikamaru looked pleased enough. Gaara was sticking close to the couple until the wedding took place, just to be certain that it, in fact, _did_ take place.

Nearly the whole Inuzuka clan had shown up, and it was difficult to meet with them all. Futaba made a bunch of lewd cracks about the upcoming honeymoon until her mother pointed out that she was now old enough to be married, herself, and they were thinking of arranging her in a marriage... possibly, she was told, to an Aburame, if she didn't stop with all the bad jokes. Hana, though she said Sakura probably knew most of it anyway, gifted her with a copy of the official Konoha textbook on courtesan training... which, yes, did have at least a few ideas she'd never thought of before in regards to making bedroom activities 'more interesting. Meanwhile, Kiba was constantly looking over at Hinata wistfully, but with the importance of the occasion he deemed it a bad time to risk inter-clan strife by standing at her side while Hiashi was in the room.

Naruto, knowing that this was his wedding and that he had the prerogative to decide who should and should not sacrifice such things for their wedding that day, wouldn't accept that. "Come on, Kiba -- let's get you over to Hinata. I know you want to join her."

"But--"

"It's Sakura's and my day, remember?" Naruto pointed out, grabbing Kiba by the shoulder. "Come on."

Nearly pulling the Inuzuka boy's arm out of his socket as he made his way over to the two conversing Hyuugas, Naruto grinned darkly. While this might not be pleasant, the neutral ground of the wedding was providing him with a perfect opportunity.

"Hiashi, good to see you, how've you been?" Naruto asked, patting him on the shoulder roughly in greeting. Kiba flinched away, but he was held tight.

Hiashi took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. "Must you try my patience, Naruto-dono? I already know you're trying to get me flustered to make discussion easier for you, so could we pretend you've got me on my heels and get on with it?"

Naruto laughed. "Guess that won't work twice, huh?"

"A ninja should never show his techniques to an enemy more than once," Hiashi recited, then grinned. "Unlike Hanabi-chan, I actually went to the Academy... although I only went to learn all those cheesy sayings."

Kiba nearly fell to the floor in surprise -- he had never even seen Hiashi smile, much less crack a joke. "Uh, Hiashi-sama?" he said, unable to believe it.

Hiashi's eyes tightened. "You've caused me all sorts of trouble, Kiba-san. The whole village, too."

Before Kiba could reply, Naruto intervened. "Now look here, buddy. This whole 'Hyuuga Civil War' thing has just been looking for an excuse to break out ever since you instituted that whole Caged Bird nonsense. It wasn't Kiba who caused it, but generations of mistakes by the Hyuuga clan in dealing with its own internal politics. Blaming Kiba is just shooting the messenger."

Hiashi nodded slowly. "It may surprise you to know I agree with you, Naruto-dono. However, given that the way Kiba became this 'messenger' was by sleeping with my daughter, I think I have a right to be a little annoyed at him."

Naruto seemed to consider that for a moment. "Fair enough. But I think him sleeping with your daughter is also the key to fixing this whole mess, too, so giving him a little slack might be called for."

"How so?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata hesitated. "Um, f-father? I... I'm pregnant."

Hiashi stiffened. "Ah. And this is supposed to encourage the end of this problem... how?"

Sakura stepped up. "A dangerous situation has arisen because of the pregnancy. I have made several medical findings on the Hyuuga clan. One, as you know, is that without fresh blood added to the clan, your genetic structure will start mutating and breaking down, making successive generations more prone to weakness and birth defects."

"Yes, we covered that in our earlier... meeting," Hiashi agreed.

"However, there is a corollary to that. The Hyuuga clan cannot afford to mix genetic material with just anybody. The Uchiha proved that -- a genetic marker in the post-Byakugan-completion Hyuuga blood makes it dangerously unstable when mixed with the blood of other clans that have similar strong, genetic markers. This instability leads to various disorders, including -- in the Uchiha's case, at least -- a high risk of homocidal tendencies."

Hiashi nodded slowly. "Yes, I can see how that would happen. That is partly why the Caged Bird technique came into existance."

Sakura nodded. "Yes, with proper preparation the Caged Bird technique will surpress the dangerous genetic marker. However, it must be done pre-conception."

After thinking that one through, a look of dark fear crossed Hiashi's face. "Hinata is pregnant. With an Inuzuka. And she has never had a Caged Bird seal placed upon her."

"When I get back, I will need unlimited access to the Hyuuga records," Sakura insisted. "Especially on anything to do with the Uchiha clan, the Caged Bird seal, medical histories, any past attempts to combat the problem, and so on. Hinata does not want there to be any risk of insanity to her child, and the Branch family will do anything to help her in this regard, provided certain assurances for their own safety can be made. She also mostly trusts you to be fair, whereas she doesn't trust her mother. I believe she is willing to make a number of concessions she wouldn't have in the past, if in exchange I am able to examine the Hyuuga records."

Hiashi considered the proposal for a long, long time. "I believe a deal can be struck... but I do not hold all of the clan records. Many of them are in the hands of the Matriarch, and I cannot bargain with things I do not have."

Naruto grinned. "Then we have an agreement to agree, here? I'd really like to be able to go off to my honeymoon knowing that, when I get back, I'll be able to at least get a start on fixing this problem..."

Hiashi nodded. "Agreed."

Naruto smirked, then glanced at Sakura. "Well, looks like everything's settled for now. Should we slip out now, then?"

"In as clumsy and noisy a way as possible, of course," Sakura agreed. "It wouldn't be you without some sort of distraction."

Hiashi blinked. "What--"

Suddenly, there were a hundred Narutos carrying a hundred Sakuras. "Kontserun Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" was the call.

"What the hell?" Tsunade's voice could be heard shouting over all the sudden chaos.

"Happi-ueddingu-taimu no jutsu!" was the follow-up, and suddenly every single Naruto and every single Sakura was as nude as they could be... although, between strategically-placed smoke clouds and the way their bodies were pressed against each other, no-one saw anything that they wouldn't have seen had the couple been in swimsuits.

A number of guests -- mostly male -- were knocked off their feet by the sudden explosion of wet-dream fodder. Jiraiya was disabled before he could act, thanks to a well-placed chop to the back of his neck by Tsunade. Hinata was blushing worse than she ever had before, and many of the attached ninja present, like Kiba and Konohamaru, were trying hard to avoid looking at anything that would get them in trouble with their significant others.

Suddenly, all one-hundred pairs of Narutos and Sakura were gone, flashing away in a puff of smoke. Paper sheets floated to the ground in their place, all with the same message.

"Oh, come on -- it's me, the biggest practical joker this village has ever seen! And I just married a closet practical joker extraordinaire, myself! Did you really think we _wouldn't_ try something like this?" those papers said. No signature was on the paper, but it didn't exactly take a genius like Shikamaru to figure out who wrote it.

* * *

Author's Notes - Coming up with a ninja varient of the shinto wedding ceremony was frustrating. Ah, well, at least I managed it. In case anyone missed it, 'Happi-ueddingu-taimu no jutsu' means, literally, the 'Happy Wedding Time Technique,' using mostly newly-adopted words into Japanese (I could have used pure Japanese words for all three, but I wasn't confident enough in my Japanese grammar to get it right. However, using the English-origin words, I can use the English grammar structure for them). Many thanks to the EDICT Online Japanese-English website for this and many other Japanese words used in this fic -- thanks to you, I don't have to haul out the too-massive-to-use-easily paper English-Japanese dictionary I own. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the 'Happi-uedingu-taimu no jutsu!' was one of the perverted ninjutsu techniques Naruto developed with Kireme's help, way back in Volume 2, though its full effect has yet to be seen. The 'Kontserun Kage Bunshin no Jutsu' (or Combined Kage Bunshin, similar to the 'Combined Henge' that Naruto and Gamabunta use in the battle with Gaara) is probably something Sakura and Naruto came up just for the occasion, and not exactly all that useful outside of a situation like this. However, it IS a new technique they both have, so if you're trying to build an encyclopedia of techniques for them from this fic... here's another one. 

Next Chapter - Lee starts his mission. Hiashi and Hinata talk, Hanabi acting as moderator. Kireme explains why she is the way she is. And, well, we'll see if I add anything else. (I have no ideas for a Naruto Sakura Honeymoon scene, or rather, I can't think of another writable idea for a lemon between the two of them that wasn't included in the earlier lemon. IF I decide to include one, however, next chapter may be censored. Unlikely, however)


	70. V4 Chapter 10

Volume 4

Chapter 10

* * *

"I want to talk with you all about applying these techniques in your everyday lives," Kireme lectured. It was only a few days after Tenten had staggered, drunk, into the brothel and demanded her student be 'serviced' by them. To Tenten, it was fairly obvious that this lecture was directed at her as much as it was an actual lesson. "I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. I am a whore -- I get paid good money to have sex with strange men. I enjoy being a whore, and it's what I know how to do best." She paused, letting that sink in. "You are ninja, and as such I don't expect you to be using most of these techniques unless absolutely required to by a mission. After all, we were raised differently, and think differently, and we each have a different perspective on life and we all get different things out of sex.

"I grew up in a town where most women were little more than slaves," Kireme continued. "Worse than slaves, in fact, because we weren't even given the little bits of freedom most slaves expect. Women were never to ever leave the house. If we did, we were subject to torture and death... or worse. While in the house, we had a limited number of activities we were allowed to perform -- again, any deviation would lead to torture and death, or worse. Marriages were arranged, and thus we were granted one exception to the 'never leave the house' rule -- we were allowed to be dragged -- literally dragged in chains, if we didn't move quickly enough -- from the house of our parents to the house of our new slave-masters, our husbands. There was one escape from this -- if you were exceptionally attractive, you could ask your parents to send you to either the priesthood or the brothel. The priesthood was a different kind of slavery, though the consequences of disobedience were kinder and the chances of torture and death were less. And a woman in the priesthood there would quite possibly have to whore out her body just as much as she would in a brothel, though she'd be paid less."

Mouth agape, Tenten couldn't keep herself from reacting. "There are still places which treat women like that?"

"I believe so," Kireme said sadly. "There were when I was born, anyway, and I've never heard of anything that happened to my old home-town to make me think things changed. However, given the freedom to be a brothel worker, I quickly learned to love the profession. I enjoy sex very much, and because I enjoy it and am very good at it I get paid, I keep my freedom, and I live my life. Becoming a prostitute, in my case, was a big step up for me." She paused. "Being a prostitute would be a massive step down for any of you. Even though kunoichi are still sometimes required to act as high-class prostitutes for the sake of a mission, none of you will ever know the desperate motives that drive someone into the profession as a long-term career."

Bangai, the ANBU girl who was fast becoming one of Tenten's closer friends, raised her hand. "Weren't you named a ninja, too, recently? Does this mean you've taken a step up, or a step down?"

Kireme smiled sadly. "Sort of, but I started learning the ways of the ninja long after I started my career as a prostitute. In fact, my days of actually being a whore for this brothel are likely over, anyway, because I'm getting too old for the job. Middle-aged women don't make good prostitutes. I'm actually semi-retiring into a job as a ninja auxilliary, so I suppose I'm taking a step up... but, honestly, after being in this business for so long, I learned to love it." She paused. "A normal kunoichi will never have to be a prostitute long enough to learn to love it. Which brings me back to applying these techniques in your everyday lives. Tenten -- who do you know who has had the most lovers?"

Tenten blinked, not able to think of anyone off the top of her head. "Um... I dunno. I once knew an ANBU, back in Konoha, who warned me that -- because she was so good in missions requiring the use of her skills as a courtesan -- she had taken over a hundred men and a few dozen women to bed with her, over the years." She paused. "She advised me _not_ to take this class, and instead wanted me to train in a skill that would allow me an exemption. I never had the time, however."

"Say a couple hundred people, then," Kireme sighed. "A bit more than I expected, but not that many more. In the first five years of my career as a prostitute, I slept with over five thousand different men. In the next five, I really was in demand, and slept with another seven thousand. By then, I'd earned the right to be a bit more selective, so I've only had to sleep with about a hundred different men a year since."

"Damn," someone whistled. With a start, Tenten realized she had said it herself.

"Suffice it to say, I have a lot more experience in this field than the best trained kunoichi," Kireme explained wryly. "One thing I can say from all this experience -- as great as the sex is, after a while it becomes meaningless. The people I am hired to work for rarely make an impact. I only remember a few of my clients, any more -- my very first one, my biggest payday, my favorite lover... and a young man who was so devoted to another girl he refused my service." She paused. "The man who refused is now in one of the happiest relationships with a woman I have ever seen. Most of the others... well, let's just say that casual sex tends to make sex nothing special. I am not advocating monogamy -- I fear I don't really have the right to really make that a convincing argument, and really the point of this class is counter-productive to the very concept -- but the skills we are teaching you will be better, for you, if used sparingly. I strongly suggest, if you really feel a burning desire to apply these skills, that you find someone you like to use them for the 'first time.' Once that is done, I really hope you at least consider remaining loyal to them, and not make it a one night stand. For a kunoichi -- or even for a whore -- sex is a precious commodity, a weapon to be used at last resort or a tool for secret interrogations. I gave up all chance at knowing what it means to have someone be loyal to me, or to be loyal to someone, in order to escape a horrible situation; I purchased something very valuable by using sex. Ninja missions are assigned where sex is sometimes used to obtain information, to set up an assassination, or to incriminate a criminal by kunoichi -- all things you 'purchase' with sex, viewing it on strictly commercial terms as a whore like me would. But if you give someone sex just because you can... you are devaluing it, unless there is some meaning attached to it." She looked right at Tenten. "Don't go looking to lose your virginity just because you can. Go lose it because it means something to you -- whether that something is freedom, a career move, or even 'just' sealing a relationship, which is really its best use, get some meaning out of it. What we are teaching you is not to be used lightly, just like any of the kinjutsu you are taught -- they are given to you so that, _if_ the need arises, you can use those techniques. They are _not_ given to you because you should use them. Now, before we go on and start teaching these techniques to you, are there any questions on my lesson of when to use them?"

There was a pause before the class replied. "No, sensei."

Tenten, however, knew the message was primarily meant for her, after the discussion they'd had the night before. And she knew that a simple nod would tell the teacher all she needed to know. "No, sensei... I understand perfectly."

* * *

"So, while you now agree that there is some need for a Caged Bird seal, you think it should only be used when one of us is marrying into another clan with such powerful genetic markers?" Hiashi said. "That, I can accept. But your insistance that the seal be modified so that it no longer 'enslaves' the wearer... well, that's going a bit far."

Hinata frowned. "I have never been happy when you used that seal, father. Not even to protect me. It is the worst kind of torture, and I won't stand for it."

Hiashi sighed. "I agree, it is torture. And I don't want to keep it to use that ability... but, the simple fact is that we don't know how to modify the seal in that way, so tying such a requirement to the treaty simply invalidates the treaty."

"Perhaps," Hanabi said, sitting at the front of the table, "A compromise on this issue could be reached." While, in fact, most of the papers left behind by Naruto and Sakura during their wedding day 'escape' were jokes, a few had other, hidden messages that appeared after a time. Hanabi had been given one that directed her to moderate an opening to the negotiations between her sister and her father. In fact, her sheet of paper mentioned that other people would also be getting similar messages, and she knew that Naruto had left some 'suggested areas of compromise' in the sheets that had attached themselves to Hiashi and Hinata. That Gaara had agreed to provide security for the negotiations was a bit surprising, but somehow Naruto had managed to get his help in this matter as well.

"What kind of compromise can there be on this?" Hinata demanded. "Do _you_ want to be tortured by your family, simply because of who you're dating?"

Hanabi blinked. "I don't think I have to worry about it, honestly, but even if I did I'd have to recognize the feasibility of what I can ask for. I'd rather be sealed than let my children go insane."

Hinata collapsed back into her chair, paling as she recalled her own problem. "You're right... but it doesn't seem reasonable to continue the torture."

"Then, how about this," Hanabi sighed. "Father agrees to expend efforts -- including bringing in outside-of-the-family experts like Sakura-san and Tsunade-sama -- to research any possible changes to the seal, and agrees to apply them when the seal is required. Regardless of what happens with regard to the research, knowledge of the current Caged Bird seal will be retained and used for punishment of criminals who commit capital crimes, yet who are too valuable to execute."

Hinata seemed to consider that. Of the three factions that the Hyuuga clan had been split into, Hiashi and Hinata's were undoubtedly the strongest, when it came to combat. However, the Matriarch's was often considered, by most third-party observers, to be the most powerful in other ways... largely because it held the largest amount of Hyuuga property, the largest proportion of the Hyuuga finances, and the largest proportion of the Hyuuga archives and artifacts. It was possible there was something in those archives which could solve this dilemna, which niether she nor her father knew about. A compromise solution, which would table the matter until her mother could also be dealt with, might be acceptable, in that case. "I suppose that could be acceptable. But the seal, in whatever form, can only be used if pre-determined genetic tests show that the Hyuuga blood and the other person's blood will react in the manner Sakura-san explained."

"I'll agree to those conditions," Hiashi sighed, relieved that a compromise was finally manageable. "Now, what else is on the agenda?"

"Well, I think you're already both agreed to extend at least limited access to the Hyuuga archives to outsiders," Hanabi pointed out. "What those limitations are need to be set, however. And, father... before, I would have sided with your position on this, but I'll warn you now: I have changed my views, and cannot be entirely objective on this matter. I know what mother tried to do with the Uzumaki records, and feel that those, at least, should be restored to their rightful owner... with a full apology."

Hinata cocked her head. "What are you talking about -- what Uzumaki records?"

Hiashi sighed. "It was during the battle with the kyuubi. A power-hungry faction of our clan, probably lead by your mother, joined with members of the Uchiha clan as they went into the hokage's archives and stole the Uzumaki records. Some of those records were accidentally destroyed, but I believe we still have many of them. However, it would be the Uchiha who would have hidden the majority of those records -- and I have no idea where the Uchiha clan records are, either."

"Naruto-kun has done so much for Konoha, and for Hanabi and myself in particular," Hinata pointed out. "He has so little knowledge of his heritage. I think he deserves whatever help we can give him in restoring those records."

"It will mean the Hyuuga clan must admit to a great crime," Hiashi sighed. "And... I'm not prepared to do that. Sakura-san will be going through our records, however, and is bound to find what we have..." He closed his eyes in thought. "Plus, I think most of the Uzumaki records that we keep are in the hands of your mother. I cannot offer them as a part of this deal."

Hinata looked defiant for a moment, but then sighed. "I will broadcast to all of Konoha our crime, father, if you refuse. If you accept this, then perhaps you could couch it in terms that would save face, but I feel that there are many records we hold that should be given to all of Konoha... and others that should be given to their specific rightful owners. I cannot accept being a part of a clan that makes me ashamed of myself."

There was a very long pause, as all three tried to figure out a compromise. Finally, Hiashi sighed. "Well... perhaps I have one idea..."

* * *

Lee looked around, trying to see if there was anything useful to his mission in this sleepy little nameless border town. It did seem to be more heavily populated than it had any right to be, but the ninja had been expecting that, and it wasn't as if anyone stood out. In fact, it almost helped him blend in a little better... almost. A few of the townsfolk with accents that seemed to indicate they lived near the Rock village were looking at him oddly, but Lee had no idea what that was about. After all, even if the Rock were still hostile to Konoha, the civilians of Earth country wouldn't likely be concerned... and it wasn't as if he was wearing any identifying material on him. Yes, he was rather distinctive looking, himself, but he hadn't been in Blossom long enough for word to reach these towns about his appearance... and he wasn't, to the best of his knowledge, in the bingo book for Rock.

He vaguely wondered if the two-man teams he had broken everyone into were having as much trouble. This town had no bars -- in fact, it was a town prohibiting the sale of liquor -- so the most obvious place to go for information was off the table. There were no brothels, so there was no way of tapping into Jiraiya's intelligence network to find anything out. There was only one inn, and it was full, but that inn offered no decent common areas from which to eavesdrop on private conversations. Few people openly carried any belongings he could search through. All in all, the possibilities of him finding anything out from this town were slim.

Yet it definitely appeared as though there was something to the daimyo's reports. Large numbers of people from many countries were passing through town. None of them appeared to be ninja, or fighters of any kind, but there was definitely something going on. There was only one word that he had heard that made any sense to him at all -- 'Bijuu.' One of the nine greater demons, it sounded like, was roaming around, terrifying the countryside to the North and West. Nothing else he heard would tell him which of them it was, and nothing else he heard would say where it had come from, but apparently the people present were all refugees.

_If this is all I can learn from one village,_ Lee wondered, _How many others will I have to go through before I find out enough to complete the mission?_ Yet he continued searching. He would move on to another town before evening, camping in the woods rather than trying to find a place to stay in the over-populated village. He wouldn't see any of his fellow ninja for another week, and then he would evaluate the situation. However, at this point, it looked as if he'd be gone for a while...

* * *

Ino was sitting in the Ichiraku restaurant, dining on a fresh bowl of ramen. She'd long since tamed her inner Naruto enough that she wouldn't pig out on the soup too much, but she still found she enjoyed a bowl now and then -- especially when it was as wet and rainy as it was that day. It wasn't as good as when Teuchi ran the stand, but it was perfectly acceptable ramen, and she had a feeling that Naruto would be pleased that it still seemed to follow the old recipe, at least, even if it wasn't quite done as well. She had thought Ayame would be running the place after Teuchi retired, but that did not appear to be the case. Ayame initially ran the place, it seemed, but then about a year before sold it again and switched to part-time work, just as her father had.

She sighed wistfully, thinking of Sakura and Naruto on their honeymoon, and wishing she had something like they had, together, with someone. She recalled the message to her on the 'happi-ueddingu-taimo no jutsu' paper she had recieved. "We're a little worried for you," the note had said, "And hope you find someone soon." It struck her that, for years, she had been living almost without any interest in dating at all, but now her libido was roaring back. It occured to her that she might have been subconsciously waiting for... well, not Naruto, but Sakura. It wasn't that she, herself, was interested in girls... but it was entirely possible that her 'inner Naruto' was still hoping for something to happen with Sakura, and that... had been holding her back.

But now that she wasn't being held back, who was left for her to go after? Shikamaru was engaged, Naruto had never been an option, no-one had seen Chouji since he became the food-taster for Fire country's daimyo, and Sasuke was... now an anethema to her, rather than a desirable option. That was everyone she had considered, before, and when it came to those she'd never looked at... well, they were being snapped up pretty quickly, too. Kiba was committed to Hinata, Shino was too creepy for her, and all the others she knew from her generation had gone to Blossom in her place. The older generation was too old, and the younger generation was pairing up and getting together with each other already. That left looking into a threesome with someone, just as Hyuuga Hanabi had found love in a foursome, but Ino wasn't too comfortable about that idea.

A happy giggle behind her told her that there was yet another happy couple walking the streets of Konoha, though she couldn't place them by their voice. She turned around to see, to her surprise, Ayame holding a very red and panicked-looking Iruka as she gave him a big, public, toe-curling kiss. The young woman let him go, a broad smile on her face, and straightened her clothes unnecessarily. "I've got to go to work, now, Iruka-kun, but we'll meet again tonight, okay?"

"Uh huh," he said dazedly.

A fingertip closed Iruka's mouth before she ran into the back of the restaurant. Ino was happy for her former teacher, but seeing the sweet little scene just reminded her, more, about her problem.

Iruka slowly regained his awareness of the world around him, and saw her there. "Ino-chan! We didn't get much of a chance to talk at the wedding, yesterday," he said in greeting. "Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee and a conversation?"

Ino rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei, but I just saw someone quite publically stake a claim over you, and I'm not about to get between the two of you."

Iruka, whose skin had just started getting back to normal, redoubled his blush. "Um, yeah, well, I didn't mean like a date, obviously. You're a bit young for me, after all -- all I was interested in was a chance to catch up. I haven't been able to talk with anyone from Blossom, and I'd like all the news."

Ino glared at him with mock suspicion. "Well... I suppose I can trust you. But I'm telling Ayame-chan if you make a pass at me!"

"Well, I was thinking of buying you that coffee from here," Iruka pointed out. "She's probably going to be watching me the entire time, so I don't think you'll need to."

Ino laughed. "Take a seat. So, what do you want to know?"

Through a prolonged question and answer section, Ino relayed many of the adventures she and everyone in Blossom had gone through over the years. Iruka was, to no surprise, most interested in how Naruto had been doing, but he'd asked questions about all of his former students. He had been stunned at the amount of material that they had needed to cover in the Blossom Academy, and was intrigued at the concept of a medical school that could teach genin who weren't quite equipped to be combat ninja, but were nonetheless adept at using ninja techniques. The story of how Naruto had used pranks as a method of teaching had him laughing.

More serious topics, of course, would occasionally bring the conversation to a more somber mood. Iruka had been there, briefly, while Naruto was still grieving over Genma's death, but later events sometimes proved just as bad. Blossom, as every ninja village had, occasionally lost a member or two. What made it especially tragic, in Blossom's case, was that almost every ninja who died were still very, very young. The tale of Akane's betrayal and eventual death was obviously the most personal experience that Ino could mention, and that lead to a complete recount of how the whole situation that brought Naruto and Sakura back to Konoha went down.

"I'm astonished Naruto proved to be so effective a leader," Iruka finally said when she was all done. "But it really sounds like everyone in Blossom cares for him."

"They do," Ino agreed. "He was always the leader, even when Kakashi was officially in charge. I think he loved living there. It'll be a shame that he'll be stuck in Konoha for most of the rest of his career, when he becomes Hokage, but this has always been his dream and no-one from Blossom will ever begrudge him that."

Iruka sighed, shaking his head. "I hope he is confirmed, but I have my doubts. I tried to talk to my clan head about his vote, but I fear he's going to vote against Naruto's confirmation when it comes up in a couple of weeks. I'd say only the Akimichi, Sarutobi, Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, and -- by a two-to-one internal vote -- the Hyuuga are solidly in his corner. A couple are probably leaning towards him, but confirmation will require thirteen votes in his favor, and we already know that at least four -- the Uchiha, Uzumaki, Anraku, and Haruno -- will be abstentions."

"Can't Naruto take the 'empty' seat for the Uzumaki clan?" Ino asked, curious. "And we could always make sure Haruno-san is in town when the vote happens. Or she could always resign the seat and let Sakura take it for her..."

"I suppose we could count in the Haruno clan," Iruka agreed after some thought. "But Naruto couldn't take his family seat -- not if he still wishes to be hokage. A hokage-designate is not allowed to take the seat for his clan."

Ino frowned. "But he is so close to fulfilling all his dreams. Surely there is something we can do for him. What clans are undecided?"

"The Maito clan is leaning towards voting yes," Ayame said, listening in. "Gai apparently had thrown so much support to Naruto over the years that their clan leader is afraid of what he'd do if the clan voted against him. I heard him talking over lunch the other day."

"Well, that's one," Iruka said, thinking. "For the really undecideds, I suppose you might possibly say the Mitarashi, though they traditionally vote against confirmation no matter who the hokage-designate is -- they were the only clan to vote against the Second, the Third, the Fourth, _and_ the Fifth. The Akadou clan hasn't stated a position, although I'm fairly certain they're against him."

"Why?" Ino asked.

Iruka would like to have told her that Tsunade was convinced that the Akadou, as a clan, had turned traitor in support of Orochimaru, but he had been sworn to secrecy on that point. "Let's just say I have some inside information, and leave it at that."

"Oh," Ino replied, knowing what he meant.

"Let's see... there's still the Hatake clan -- whose current leader may vote no just to spite Kakashi, even though I think most of his clan supports Naruto, but hokage-sama may be right and he may support his cousin after all -- the Gekkou, Yamashiro, Tsurugi, Hagane, Yuuhi, Kamizuki, and Tatami clans will definitely vote no. Shiranui is also a definite 'no' vote, after Genma's death, though I suspect Genma could have convinced them otherwise. Oh, and no-one will ever know what the Morino clan thinks." Iruka shook his head. "It's not enough. There's ten definite votes against and at least three, possibly four abstensions. Majority against."

"I wouldn't give up yet, Iruka-chan," Ayame said from the counter, refreshing their coffee. "I think you know why."

Iruka's eyes widened. "Well... yeah, he may still have a chance. But only if everyone undecided votes for him."

"Huh?" Ino said. "I thought you just said--"

"There's a very slim chance," Umino said, not allowing her to ask the question. "I can't say why, yet."

Ino seemed to think on that one for a moment before standing up. "Well, in that case, there's only one thing to do." She put down the money she needed to pay for her mean and the after-lunch coffee.

"Where are you going?" Iruka asked.

"Well, first, to the post office," Ino explained. "Haruno-san will need to know about how close the vote is, so that she can decide if she'll come into town and vote or if she'll resign her vote to her daughter."

"Ah," Iruka replied, nodding. That would be important, he had to agree.

"Then, I'm going to go visit the clan heads of -- which ones were they, again? Ah, yes -- the Maito, the Mitarashi, the Hatake, and the Morino clans." Ino paused. "If it's going to be as close as you say, then those undecided clans need to have the information they need to decide, and I'll be the one to give them that information."

* * *

Author's Note: The description Kireme gave of her birthplace matches well with how some Greek city-states treated women back in the days that Homer was writing the Iliad. Women would live at home with their families, never being allowed out of the house until they were married... whereupon they would be transferred to their husband's house and never allowed to leave. What would happen to women who left these estates isn't exactly known, as I haven't found any historical record that talks about it, but I think that -- given their lack of freedom otherwise -- they were likely punished severely. However, women who entered the priesthood or who became prostitutes in these societies would have higher status; 'priestly' women (not the so-called 'Vestal Virgins,' but priestesses at Delphi or other temples) would be treated as prostitutes themselves, only they were bound to the decrees of their temple's master (and therefore still slaves, albeit with more freedom to move about). Prostitutes actually had the highest status for women in these societies, often being better educated than the men they serviced while being granted all the freedoms of men. Obviously, only the most attractive of women were able to acquire a job as a prostitute. This form of society led to very little male-female interaction, which is probably a big contribution towards the historical stereotype that all Ancient Greek men were homosexual or bisexual, which isn't true at all. This is the type of society I had in mind for her origins from the beginning, when I started to realize how important the prostitutes and brothels would become in this story.

Next Chapter: Naruto and Sakura return. Lee meets up with his team, and what they learn starts to paint a dangerous picture. Possibly the council vote to confirm Naruto takes place, though I might push that for another chapter in place of something else.


	71. V4 Chapter 11

Volume 4

Chapter 11

* * *

"I am still not sure about this boy," the head of the Morino clan intoned, having taken a few minutes to consider the prepared speech Ino had delivered. So far, she had been to see the Hatake clan head, and she felt her meetings had gone well... though she was a bit concerned about the clan head himself, even if the clan seemed to approve of him -- he seemed to not particularly care one way or the other about Naruto, but was much more concerned with internal clan politics. And his internal clan politics seemed to be 'do everything to annoy that son of the biggest disgrace this clan has ever seen, Kakashi.' To make matters worse, she had been refused an audience with the Mitarashi clan head. Nevertheless, she went on to visit Morino undaunted.

"What more do you need to know?" Ino asked, staring evenly into his eyes. Ibiki, who she remembered distinctly from the written part of her chuunin exam, sat at the man's right, and a female member of the clan -- an elderly one with the reputation of being a genjutsu specialist -- was on his left. But Ino wasn't going to let herself see their reactions at all -- as the saying went, "It is dangerous to look away from the snake that wished to strike."

"I am still uncertain that he has what it takes to be hokage," the Morino clan head replied. "He is a noted prankster, and is not known for his intelligence. While I concede that he is not the kyuubi, and has succeeded in overcoming significant bias despite this belief in others, I am not sure there is any proof that he has the brains for the job."

Ino smirked. "Oh, I see. I'm sure you're familiar with Tsunade-sama's current attendant, Nara Shikamaru. Would you regard Shikamaru a poor tactician?"

"No," Morino sighed. "But I hardly see how that matters."

"Naruto beat Shikamaru in a game of chess, in a game before many witnesses -- including Hyuuga Neji, who was quite impressed with Naruto's game," Ino pointed out. Shikamaru's prowess in the game of chess was known in every part of the world that ninja inhabited, and most never knew that he'd ever lost. That Naruto had managed it, and in a way that impressed others whose tactical prowess was considered high, was a fairly convincing argument that the young man had the tactical ability for command, in and of itself. "Some of that was Shikamaru being careless, but even he concedes that Naruto is a more than adequate tactician. There is also a common belief among the people of Blossom that Naruto, who ran the village many times during his tenure in the village, including a three month period, was the best leader that the village could possibly have had. Naruto even established a 'shadow government,' effectively keeping Blossom afloat for several years while an undercover mission was forcing Kakashi-sensei to run the formal government incompetently. His jounin team has the highest efficiency report of all the teams in Blossom. Now, he is still something of a prankster, but he uses those pranks in educational ways. He is occasionally naive in interpersonal matters, which leads to his reputation for poor intelligence, but in truth he has a very high I.Q., a strong knowledge of ninja skills and ninja philosophy, an unorthodox but effective manner of teaching others those things they need to know."

"All interesting points," Morino sighed. "Ibiki, what are your thoughts?"

Ino blinked, not expecting the clan head to seak the advice of his underlings... at least, not while she was there. Most clan heads would view such a thing, when meeting with a relative nobody such as her, as a weakness. Obviously, however, the clan head trusted Ibiki pretty far.

"Well," the inquisition specialist began. "I recall his written chuunin exam. I figure we would have had about twelve teams pass that exam and not drop out, but he made a speech that inspired courage throughout the room. We wound up with twenty-one teams, that year, thanks to him." He paused. "He's also fairly remarkable for being the only person I know of to pass the written exam with a blank piece of paper. I don't know if that was an example of courage or foolhardiness... but I suppose, given everything else I've heard about him, I'll go with courage." He paused. "I would gladly serve him, were he the hokage."

The Morino clan head seemed to consider his subordinate's words carefully. Whether he was actually doing so, or just delaying his decision for the sake of appearances, Ino couldn't tell. "Well, I will consider your words, Yamanaka-san. Before you came to discuss this matter with me, I was going to vote against Naruto's confirmation, but you have given me much to think about. I promise you, I will make a fair judgement, and I will not allow my past prejudices to make me vote against him. He has a strong advocate in you, I think."

"I shall escort you out," Ibiki said, standing up and bowing to everyone in the room. "Morino-sama, I will return momentarily."

"As you wish."

Ibiki lead Ino down the long, easily defensible hallway that was the entrance to the Morino compound. The Morino clan had arrived after Konoha's founding, and -- lacking the finances to buy more than a single piece of property that was bordered by cliff walls on three sides -- built its compound underground. It was filled with well lit rooms, and had most of the modern conveniences, but it kept most of the people of Konoha ignorant as to how large they really were. However, during major crises such as the kyuubi attack, or the Sand-Sound War, they graciously opened their doors to refugees from all corners of Konoha, which made them a very influencial clan. Ino had been hoping for a stronger commitment from the clan head, so she could use his decision when presenting her case before the Maito clan, but it seemed as if the uncertainty about Morino's vote was still there.

Her disappointment must have been blatantly apparent to the trained inquisitor escorting her, though Ino couldn't tell for certain until he began speaking to her. "You did good back there, Yamanaka-san."

Ino smiled half-heartedly at him. "Please, Yamanaka-san is my father. I am not the head of my clan, nor do I wish to be, so I will remain Ino."

"Ino-san, then," Ibiki replied agreeably. "Though, if that speech you made to my elder is any indication, you would do well to consider taking the job."

"I'm a long way from retirement, yet," Ino replied, laughing softly. "So that is just a pipe dream."

"As you wish," Ibiki agreed. They continued on in silence briefly before he continued. "He may have sounded non-commital, but my elder will be voting for Naruto when the time comes. You have enlightened him to Naruto's virtues convincingly."

"Then--"

"However, he does not want his decision to be used for propaganda purposes," Ibiki explained. "As long as he doesn't commit to anything, you cannot go around claiming he has."

Ino sighed. "Yes, but if he supports Naruto, then why wouldn't he let me?"

"Because he wishes to avoid conflict. The Hyuuga Matriarch's faction is violently opposed to Naruto's candidacy, and may decide to strike on anyone who voices their support of him. It is true, he will eventually have to go on the record with his vote, but once the vote is cast the motivation for such a conflict dissapates down to simple revenge, and on a matter like this simple revenge is unlikely to spark clan warfare."

Ino glanced at Ibiki for a moment. "You know, for someone who has undergone unspeakable tortures to keep a secret safe before, you're being awfully informative."

"'It is dangerous to hold onto a secret so tightly that you cannot use it when you need to,'" Ibiki recited. "I'm proud to say I'm the one who originated that particular line of the Konoha Ninja Code. There were things you needed to know, and so... now you know them. And you know why they must be kept secret, so you will protect the secret yourself."

Ino nodded, realizing the truth behind his words. "I understand. No-one shall know of the Morino clan's decision until after the vote."

Ibiki smiled. "Good. Now, don't walk into any more genjutsu that might make you reveal this secret. Kai!"

Suddenly, Ibiki -- and the corridor she had been walking down -- were gone. Instead, she was outside of the compound, walking down an empty allyway towards what was likely the main square of town. She wasn't even exactly sure of where she was, and had no clue how long it would take to find someplace familiar where she could get her bearings. "Argh," she sighed. "I hate being caught in a genjutsu."

"You aren't the only one," a familiar voice said from behind her. Ino spun around to see a very satisfied-looking Naruto supporting a tired Sakura as they walked down the same alleyway. "Fortunately, my wife here is usually able to recognize them and break us out of them pretty easily."

"Sakura-chan! Naruto-dono!" Ino cheered. "Welcome back! How was the honeymoon?"

Sakura let out a wide yawn. "Well, kyuubi's usually insatiable, but he seemed satisfied with his vicarious experience. Naruto's a bit more demanding, though, so we had to keep going even after the fox had worn himself out."

Ino flushed. "Um, that's... nice."

Sakura giggled slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to throw it in your face like that. I guess I'm just so tired I wasn't even thinking. Still, Ino, I think you need to find a guy for yourself. You'd be surprised at how much fun it can be."

Ino turned even redder. "Uh, right. Fun."

"Well, we're back, now, and so we're not likely to have that much fun again for a while," Naruto sighed regretfully. "We wanted to meet with a few people and see how far they got on the projects we wanted done while we were on our honeymoon, but we're both just too tired for tonight. We'll catch up with everyone tomorrow."

"I'm sure they'll understand," Ino replied, glad that the topic had moved on to safer grounds. "I think we weren't expecting you back until tomorrow, anyway, so some of them might not be ready for you, yet."

"Things will be moving a lot faster than any of us expect over the coming weeks," Naruto said with a yawn. "So people should start expecting the unexpected. That includes watching out for assassination attempts, so keep your head on a swivel."

Ino nodded slowly. "Yes, I was reminded, just a few minutes ago, about just how dangerous politics can be around here. I'll keep my eyes opened."

Naruto grinned in reply. "Good enough. Well, we're heading on home, now, so we'll see you later. Stay safe."

"Wait!" Ino called, sounding almost panicked as they started to leave.

Naruto and Sakura instantly stopped, suddenly dropping into an alert stance. "What, what is it?" Naruto asked, glancing everywhere and looking for danger. "Where's the attack coming from?"

Ino flushed. "Er, there's no attack, but... um, can you guys help me get home? I got lost in a genjutsu, and it's been so long since I've been in Konoha I'm not sure where I am any more..."

Naruto and Sakura stared at her incredulously for a few moments. Then, Naruto started snickering, which got Sakura laughing, and it escalated from there. "Sure thing, Ino-pig," Sakura teased amiably. "Come on. We'll show you the way home."

* * *

"That is not possible," Matsuri said, listening to the reports coming in. Lee had wanted everyone to get together at least once a week, ostensibly to share their findings but really more just to make sure that they were all safe. Matsuri, Lee's second in command, was running the meeting while he patrolled their camp himself. She would be giving him a summary of everything when they were done, of course, but she felt it was a poor decision on his part to not at least feign interest in what was being said. She wasn't entirely unhappy about being in charge, however -- she was hoping to make jounin some day, and could use the experience.

"What is not possible?" one of her genin asked defensively. He was known for his practical jokes, but got very offended when people didn't take him seriously when he wasn't joking. "That's what they told me! I wouldn't lie about that, even for a joke."

"I didn't say you were lying," Matsuri explained. "Just that what you were told was impossible. That people are running from some ongoing calamity they believe is a greater demon, that much I can buy. But it isn't the kyuubi -- Konoha knows where the kyuubi is, and I can assure you he is not terrorizing the countryside to the north."

"I think most of the bijuu were accounted for in Naruto-dono's last battle," Daichi noted. "From what Futaba-chan told me before she left for Konoha, Naruto-sensei was in a battle against a number of people possessed by the bijuu and defeated all of them. The only bijuu that is still supposed to be out and wild is the eight tailed one... which is some kind of snake, I believe. Pretty hard to mistake a snake for a fox, I would say, but these people are obviously running from something of that level."

Matsuri sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter who it is that's really attacking them, I suppose. As long as they believe it's kyuubi, that means trouble."

"Why would that be any more trouble than anything else that might cause these people to run?" one of Daichi's genin asked cynically. "They're running from something, that means trouble, no matter who they believe is causing it."

Matsuri nodded. "That's true, to a degree. It's certainly troubling, no matter what they're running from. But it's more troubling if they things it's kyuubi." She paused, trying to think of how to explain. "A couple decades ago, kyuubi was raging across the world. Konoha stopped him, and a large part of Konoha's reputation as the strongest of the ninja villages comes from our having beaten the kyuubi. If people start to think we didn't beat him, after all, it has major political implications around the world."

"Not to mention problems for Naruto-dono in particular," Daichi pointed out. "He'll have a lot of trouble if word of this reaches Konoha."

"Which, if what I've heard is true, he doesn't need right now," Matsuri sighed. "Well... it's Lee's choice to make, but I think we need to explore this further. Maybe we should even try and see this 'kyuubi' for ourselves. Okay, everyone, dismissed. We'll turn in for now, and decide in the morning whether to resume the mission as-is or to change it."

The assembled ninja stood from their seats around the campfire and slowly made their way to their tents, but Matsuri stayed behind to tend the fire. She had to stay up to brief Lee, after all, but she wasn't sure if she could have slept if she wanted to.

Lee stepped out from the trees once everyone was gone, and flashed her a big smile. "Good job, Matsuri-kun! You ran that meeting so effectively it was obvious how bursting with youth you were!"

Matsuri turned a disdainful eye on him. "Quit channelling Gai-sama, Lee-kun. You're even wierder than he is when you do that."

Lee flushed. "Well, it works for him," he pointed out.

"So, you heard everything?" Matsuri asked softly.

"Of course. You didn't really think I wasn't going to listen in, did you?" Lee replied rhetorically. "I knew the genin would be a lot more comfortable speaking up if I wasn't here. I think they're scared of me."

"Like I said, Lee-kun, you really need to quit channeling Gai-sama," Matsuri giggled, but then became serious again. "So, are we going to be changing our mission, or are we continuing as-is?"

Lee thought about it for a minute. "Continue as-is for now," he said. "But I'll have Daichi-kun summon a messenger bug before we move out, tomorrow -- he should be able to get one that can go to Gai-sensei, tell him what's going on and give him your recommendations, and see if he has any instructions. We have the time to wait for a decision from the higher-ups, for now."

Matsuri nodded. "Good enough. So, what do you think is going on? A bijuu, or something else?"

Lee frowned. "Well... I'm not sure. But I certainly _hope_ it's something else." He paused. "You don't have to fight fire with fire, but it's almost impossible to fight a bijuu without another bijuu... and our bijuu is out of town right now."

* * *

"Well, I got a message back from Haruno-san," Iruka sighed, shaking his head. He was meeting with Ino, again, at the Ichiraku, as they had on several days that past week to discuss their ongoing campaign for Naruto's confirmation. "She complained a lot about feeling like a boomerang, having to constantly go back and forth between Konoha and Blossom, but she believes she can make it if she has at least two days notice, since she will be along and won't have to carry anything. I haven't heard what day the vote is supposed to be on, though, so I'm not sure when to tell her to be here."

"I'll find out from my father," Ino said. "He'll know, since the law says that, as clan head, he'll have to know at least a week in advance so he can be sure to be in town on the day of the vote."

"Hm, good point, but don't bother. I'll be sure to mention to Tsunade-sama that we have a clan head out of town, and need to send her the proper one-week notification before a vote can be in place," Iruka replied. "She'll take care of it. Now... how have the meetings gone?"

Ino paused to consider. "Very... oddly. I'm convinced we'll have the votes of the Maito, and Morino clans, but... well, I wasn't able to get an audience with anyone from the Mitarashi clan, and I just can't tell with the Hatake clan chieftan. I'm fairly certain that most of the members of the Hatake clan want Naruto confirmed, but I don't think their clan chief cares about that..."

Iruka sighed. "Well, you did your best." He glanced over at Ayame, who sat in on every one of their conversations from behind the counter. "I have a couple things in the works, myself, but I'm not sure any of them will turn out. My clan head is dead-set against Naruto-kun, and I have no idea how to convince him otherwise."

"All we can do is our best," Ayame reminded them in a sing-song tone. "We have to trust in fortune to provide the rest."

Ino frowned. "Is that a ninja saying?"

Ayame laughed. "Hardly! It's something my father taught me. He said it's a line from a ramen-slinger's ballad from lean times."

Iruka coughed. "Actually..."

"Yes, dear?" Ayame replied, directing her attention to him.

He shook his head. "Never mind. I must be thinking of something else. But you're right -- Naruto has never given up on his dream and has gotten this far despite all of the obstacles thrown in his way. Why should we give up, now?"

"That's the spirit!" Ayame cheered, then turned a mock frown at Ino. "And you should have known that, too. After all, don't you have a bit of Naruto-kun in you, too?"

Ino flushed. "Well... yeah. But I spent a lot of effort seperating my personality from his, over the years. It hasn't completely worked -- I wouldn't have such a fondness for ramen otherwise -- but I have to pull the good things out with the bad, as long as I want to maintain my individuality. If I want to know how Naruto-dono thinks -- or at least the thirteen year old Naruto -- I can sort of ask that part of me about it, but I can't let his traits 'leak' into me or else they all will." She paused. "Not that I was ever much of a quitter, before. Well, maybe once or twice -- I nearly gave up to Neji-kun at the second stage of my chuunin exam, and I almost quit against Sakura-chan in the preliminary tournament after that stage because I didn't _really_ want to hurt her. And then... well, okay, maybe I wasn't ever one of those 'never say die' people like Naruto-dono has become. Still, I'm not giving up on this."

Ayame smiled pleasantly. "That's good to hear. And I think I can speak for everyone at the Ichiraku and ramen stands everywhere when I say we're glad that you at least kept the fondness for ramen."

Ino sighed. "Yeah, I've grown to love ramen... but oh, my waistline! Do you know how difficult it is to keep trim when you have to keep a ramen-hungy personality inside your system happy?"

Iruka started to laugh along with the girls, but stopped instantly. "Ino-chan, do not move an inch."

Ino froze instantly, not even daring to breath. When a senior ninja said something like that, you knew you were in trouble. She tried to glance around and see what the problem was, and it was only after she caught a reflection off the napkin dispenser that she saw what the trouble was.

Ayame, ever the hostess, plastered a smile on her face. "Ah, hello, Hyuuga-sama. Welcome to the Ichiraku. Can we get you something today?"

The Hyuuga matriarch, stepping far enough under the shade that Ino could see her out of the corner of her eye even without the reflector, laughed derisively. "Me? Getting peasant food from a kitchen whore like you? Hardly!"

There was a slight cracking sound as Iruka stiffened up. "Just what did you call Ayame-chan?" he asked dangerously.

"A kitchen whore. Why?" Hyuuga cracked. "You mean she's giving it away for free? Wow! I thought the days of that happening had long since passed. My mistake -- she's just a kitchen slut, not a kitchen whore. I guess she's just not good enough to charge for her ser--"

She was interrupted by Iruka's fist in her jaw. He had been too angry to even think of any technique, or to add in any chakra to boost his strength, but he wasn't really thinking of this as a fight. More of as a way to defend his lady's honor. However, because he hadn't been thinking, he didn't realize until too late just how huge of a mistake he had made.

The Hyuuga matriarch stood up, a vary dangerous smile on her face. She wiped at her lip, and saw that just a slight trickle of blood appeared on it. "Oh, my... it looks as if you've attacked me. I guess I have no choice but to defend myself, now, don't I?"

Ino's eyes widened. Iruka didn't stand a chance without help, and she would need help herself. So, she started to call on the only help she could. "Naruto bunshin nngh..." was all she got out before a blow she hadn't seen coming sent her to the floor. Too stunned to see what was going on, and just barely fading in and out of consciousness, Ino couldn't figure out what was going on in the battle. It sounded viscious, however, and by the time she had regained her senses it was over. Iruka lay, sprawled on the ground, bleeding profusely from several spots.

_But why?_ Ino thought, trying to make sense of the horror that she saw. Ayame was crying over his body, and the undamaged Hyuuga matriarch was standing over them. Then, something occurred to her. _She clearly came in here to provoke a fight, but why with Iruka of all people? He has no influence over anyone, and he's hardly worth the risk. If she was just trying to send a message, then she should have attacked me -- I'm acting as Naruto's standard bearer in all of this. If I were assaulted and killed, it might frighten the less commited into following her path, but no-one will even notice an attack on Iruka. So why him?_

The Hyuuga matriarch snorted bitterly. "Oh, quit your whining, kitchen slut." Ayame glared at her, but remained protectively draped over Iruka's body. The matriarch seemed to be trying to hide it, but she was obviously watching for the waitresses reactions.

Ino, observing the scene, couldn't believe it. _No... no way. Why?_

"He's not dead, and he probably won't die as long as you get him to the hospital soon enough. But why should you care? You're good looking enough, I suppose, for a tart that works at a ramen stand. As long as you don't charge too much money, you should be able to convince some dirty old men to rape you, like I'm sure you want." Ayame seemed to just barely restrain herself from attacking. Ino saw this and tensed. "Besides, you're probably better off. The dirty old men will probably be better lovers than this loser ever could be."

"Enough!" Ayame screamed, leaping towards the Matriach... before being caught in mid-air, restrained, and wrestled to the ground by Ino, while one of her Naruto clones stood between them and the Hyuuga woman.

"Stop," Ino whispered, restraining the struggling woman. "I don't know why, but she did all this to get to you. She wants you dead, and if you attack her she can kill you legally, so stop trying. Let's get Iruka-sensei to the hospital... he needs treatment more than you need revenge, anyway."

"But--"

"Trust me," Ino said. Turning to glare at the woman, she narrowed her eyes. "She'll pay for all of this. But let's make it on our terms, not hers. Got it?"

The Matriarch laughed. "Well played, young Yamanaka-san. But there's nothing you can do. I can already count twelve votes on my side, and with so many vacancies in the seats your boy has already lost. And good riddance, too -- he sticks his nose into internal clan business way too much. So, my plan for 'insurance' has failed, but you've still lost." Cackling madly, she disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"Was she telling the truth?" Ayame asked, slowly standing up and heading over to Iruka. "Does she really have twelve votes, already?"

"I only count ten on her side," Ino replied, helping the other girl pick him up safely to take to the hospital. "A couple others may be leaning her way, but we'll see. Never give up, right?"

Ayame smiled slightly, still red from anger and still concerned over Iruka's health, but encouraged nonetheless. "Right."

* * *

Notes: Okay, so I didn't quite get to the vote this chapter. I hope ya'll forgive me. Once again, I caution you against expecting the next chapter too soon. It might come in a day, or it might take a year. We shall see.

Next Chapter: Okay, NOW we get to the vote. Also, Tenten is assigned on a mission to reinforce Lee's team, and goes to have a talk with Kireme first. Given how long I expect the vote to take, that'll probably be all of it, but maybe we'll find space for something else, we'll see.


	72. V4 Chapter 12

Volume 4

Author's notes: For those of you keeping up with the manga, it is now quite apparent that Anko is not Naruto's mother in canon. Oh, well -- I knew it was likely I was wrong. However, as I've been working on this fanfic for several years, now, and this storyline has been in the works since chapter 1 of volume 1, I'm not changing anything. Oh, and despite what you may think, it is actually more significant -- for the purposes of this fic -- that Anko was the Fourth's lover, rather than that Anko was Naruto's mother. Why? Well... that'll come up in a dozen chapters or so, perhaps...

Chapter 12

Ino was pacing at the gates to town. It had been a long couple of weeks, and a lot of things had happened. Iruka had only left the hospital two days before, into the waiting arms -- and bed, unless Ino missed her guess; the assumption they were sleeping together, at least, Ino knew the matriarch was right about -- of Ayame. Naruto had formally taken the deal negotiated between Hinata and Hiashi, tied up the loose-end type of details, and got them both to sign it. Kakashi, privately explaining that he wanted to be out of the picture when his clan head made his final decision on the vote, left for Blossom to reclaim his position as the Jounin-Oyabun. And the vote to confirm Naruto had been announced... and was supposed to be that day. Hopefully, everyone would make it in time, but Ino was beginning to wonder.

A flash of pink landed in a blur in front of her before resolving itself into the image of Sakura's mother. "I didn't think I'd make it," she panted. "Someone set up an ambush for me along the road, and I had to detour around it. Am I going to be late?"

"Hyuuga," Ino growled under her breath, gritting her teeth. Forcing a more friendly expression on her face, she turned to the older woman. "No, Haruno-san. You've still got a half hour to get to the hokage's tower."

The Haruno woman sighed. "Well, I was afraid of that. I guess I need to go into the meeting all dirty and sweaty from my travels, with no time to clean. It'll make the others take me less seriously, when I get a chance to speak on Naruto's behalf."

"That is the least of our problems right now," Ino sighed, leading the woman inside. "I've done all the counting, and I don't see how it's going to work. Gekko, Akadou, Shiranui, Yamashiro, Umino, Homura, Tobitake, Tsurugi, Kamizuki, Tatami, and Mitarashi clans are almost certainly voting against him. I saw Mitarashi-san talking with the Hyuuga matriarch the other day, and it didn't look like she was in much disagreement -- we needed all the undecideds to go for Naruto-dono, and it looks like we lost one. That makes it a tie, at worst, at eleven to eleven. Hatake might even decide to vote against, which would make it twelve to ten. We need a miracle."

The Haruno matriarch smiled. "Never give up, dear. Naruto has pulled through worse. You never know what could happen."

"Yeah, the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Anraku clans could all show up and vote for him," Ino sighed. "Unfortunately, those clans have either died out or aren't eligible any more, so I don't think that's likely."

The Haruno woman had a strange smile on her face. "Like I said, dear, you never know what could happen."

* * *

"Okay, everyone, you're dismissed. Lee-kun, Tenten-chan, please stay for a moment," Kakashi said as he read the report with a frown. He waited until Gai and the rest of the administrative staff left the room and the door closed before he addressed the two remaining ninja. "Okay, for the most part I understand your decisions, Neji-kun, but there is one that has me puzzled. Tell me just why you didn't get Gai to approve the mission expansion?"

"Lee-kun could handle the mission we had given him," Neji reported, sighing. "But niether he nor we have the personnel to be exploring the areas that this supposed 'kyuubi' is inhabiting. Blossom is not equipped for a mission of that magnitude, so I decided to keep him to the original contract, and once all the reports were back we would relay our concerns to Konoha and request enough reinforcement to conduct such an s-class mission."

Kakashi shook his head. "You're too much of a 'by the book' thinker for your job. Back when Blossom was much smaller than it is now, Naruto-kun managed to take just a few ninja and win a small war against the Grass on behalf of the Rainbow, because it was the right thing for him and this village to do, even though we hadn't even been cleared to exceed assigning C-ranked missions at the time. Even with many of its founding members now back in Konoha, we have a much stronger force now than we did then. The situation in Konoha proper is such that it cannot handle these reports, so requesting reinforcements from them is not an option at this time. However, this job must get done -- someone is attempting to make Konoha look bad by somehow using a false kyuubi to attack villages in the North, and we must prove that it is not kyuubi, as we claim -- truthfully -- to have the kyuubi contained."

Neji gave a slight frown of his own. "So... what do we do, then?"

"Well, the first step is to reinforce Lee-kun. With the reinforcements, we will be asking him to conduct the closer investigation he recommended. We'll play it by ear -- he won't have as many people as he needs, but I'm sure he'll understand why. Tenten-chan!"

"Yes, sir!" she chirped. She had begun to wonder why she was in this meeting, and her attention had drifted slightly, but now it was fully on Kakashi again.

"Numbers are limited, but we will pull everyone we can. Take your team, the ANBU team Anko-san left us, Seiteki Pansuke, and Hiniku Butakatsu. The later two are the survivors of what once was Ino-chan's team, and while ranked as genin they are easily chuunin level or above in terms of talent -- their undercover mission, however, prevented them from taking the chuunin exam. With this group, you are to join Lee-san's team and place yourself under his command."

For some reason Kakashi couldn't understand, Tenten blushed. "Um, yes, sir."

* * *

To say that the visitor's balcony overlooking the council chambers in the hokage's tower would be an understatement. Never, in all of Konoha's history, had the room been standing room only... and there were still people outside waiting to come in. It was a madhouse, to say the least. Fortunately, Naruto had been allowed to bring some guests with him onto the floor of the chamber, so everyone from Blossom had a front row seat for the vote. So did Kiba, Kurenai, Iruka and Ayame, Shikamaru and Temari, Ino's family, and -- trying to hide from everyone's view after having been found out as a voyeur by his teammates -- Shino.

The room underneath the balconies was not tightly packed, but that was only because it was limited to invitees of the council, the hokage, and -- on this rare occasion -- the hokage designate and his guests. Naruto and all the guests, regardless of who invited them, were herded back behind a flimsy barricade by the council's sergeant-at-arms, an honorary position held by one of the Advisors, by law -- in this case, Koharu, the elderly female teammate of the late Third Hokage. Her days of actually being strong enough to take care of any of the duties a sergeant-at-arms had, outside of the ceremonial, were long past her, but she nonetheless continued playing the role and most people humored her. The Advisors used to have considerable power in the village, but as their age caught up with them that power had decreased to the point that they could easily be ignored. However, they had some ceremonial functions to the government on Konoha, and until someone said otherwise they would be allowed some pretence of still being important.

Tsunade was -- again, as part of this rare occasion -- presiding over the council as hokage. But, since the ceremony hadn't started yet, she -- as most of the clan representatives did -- decided to mingle with the guests. She was standing with Anko when she noticed the distracted look on the other woman's face. "What's wrong, Anko-chan?" she asked casually.

Anko pointed with a nod of her head. "Look over there," she sighed.

Tsunade glanced across the room to see the head of the Mitarashi clan engaged in what looked like a friendly conversation with the Matriarch of the Hyuuga clan. "How long have they been friends?"

"As far as I know, they aren't," Anko sighed. "But they both agree on one thing -- Naruto shouldn't be the next hokage."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "This is going to be a close vote, and we're going to need Mitarashi on our side. I know you have influence with the major leaders of your clan. Have you spoken with her at all?"

"And tell her what, exactly?" Anko snorted. "I already mentioned his solid record in Blossom, his strong technique base, all the proof I could find that he is not -- in fact -- the kyuubi; and after I was done, she simply laughed at me and said I had lost my right to question her decisions more than two decades ago." Anko sighed. "And she's right, I did, but I'm not wrong about Naruto."

Tsunade took a deep breath. "You know, there's one argument she might listen to you, for..."

"What? No. Oh, no. You can't--"

"If Naruto-kun loses his shot at hokage because you aren't willing to tell your own clan head what she really needs to know to make a proper decision," Tsunade snapped. "I will strip you of your rank and send you on D-class missions every day for the rest of your life."

Anko looked horrified -- for her, that was the greatest threat imaginable. "You... you..."

"So, will you talk with her?" Tsunade asked.

Anko sighed. "I guess I have no choice, do I?" she asked. Tsunade watched the other woman as she approached the Mitarashi clan head, who -- fortunately -- had ended her conversation with the Hyuuga matriarch and had moved on to a young man she barely recognized as a very young member of her clan who currently was an Academy student. Giving Anko enough time to talk proved difficult, considering how many people were starting to get impatient while waiting for things to begin, but somehow she managed to delay things for a few minutes. There was no telling if that was enough, but at least there was a chance of Mitarashi ending up in Naruto's favor.

The dull roar of people talking ended as Tsunade made her way to the elevated podium installed at the front of the council chamber for her use. "This meeting is called to order. Will the Council President please step forward and begin his duty?"

Homura, the other teammate of the late Third Hokage, stepped forward. Once again, his days of actual power were long past him -- including the brief period of time when he had attempted to usurp the hokage's authority by controlling what the council would vote on -- but he had ceremonial duties to perform, and he was theoretically still in charge of setting the agenda for the day. He didn't get along very well with Tsunade, any more, but he was too old and tired to fight her demands, and so he ran the council as she wanted him to run it. "A hokage-designate has been placed before us," he intoned, reciting words that had been written down more than a century before just for such a purpose. Those words had never actually been used in the ceremony, but with so many visitors it seemed as if proper protocol should be followed. "It will be the council's decision as to whether he has the fitness for the job. Uzumaki Naruto-dono, please step forward."

Naruto, realizing that a dream he had been pursuing for as long as he could remember was about to come to fruition, almost froze. A brief squeeze of his shoulder by Sakura was enough to get him moving, however, and he was allowed out of the 'box' of guests to stand before the council. "Present, Homura-dono," he replied. He knew the ceremony by heart, having memorized it when he was still an academy student, knew exactly how to address each member of the assembly, knew what would be expected of him, and knew how to present himself. Now all he needed to do was remember all those things when he actually needed to remember them the most, which -- considering how nervous he suddenly found himself to be -- might be a problem.

"Then let us begin, first, with the count of your techniques."

"I make a motion to waive the counting of techniques," came the call from Yuuhi. It was not unexpected, as it had been waived for the confirmation of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hokage's, and everyone anticipated the motion to pass without debate. Even though the Yuuhi clan was believed to be against Naruto, even they didn't care to hear all of the techniques he had managed to master -- in fact, it would probably be for the best if everyone was unaware of what he had accomplished.

"With no objection?" Homura asked rhetorically. There had never been an objection to the motion in all of Konoha's history, and no-one expected one now.

"I object," came the startling words from the seat of the Umino clan's representative. The Hyuuga Matriarch's seat was immediately to his right, as she was not allowed to stay in the same alcove as Hinata and Hiashi voted from, and it was obvious she had prompted the Umino head to make this objection rather than do it herself. "I have seen no proof that this young man that I most remember for vandalizing the Hokage monuments can even count to a thousand, much less that he has mastered a thousand techniques. So, let us count them, shall we?"

Homura froze, and most of the audience seemed to be in shock. Had this man actually insulted the hokage-designate so blatantly, on the record, in front of the entire council and the entire public? And why had he even bothered with this, anyway -- the thousand techniques weren't actually required to become hokage, they just made it possible to bypass a large set of additional requirements.

"Oh, come on, Umino-san," Asuma said from the seat of the Sarutobi clan. "Why are you wasting everyone's time with this drivel?"

"It is not 'drivel,'" Umino shot back angrily. "I believe a boy with his... background... needs to prove that he's actually qualified for a job like this. Or is it your intention to cover for him? Does the boy actually have a thousand techniques in his arsenal, or is someone being a bit creative with the numbers. I will not withdraw my objection."

Homura took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He let that breath out in a sigh. "As the motion to waive the count of techniques requires unanimity, I am forced to ask that the hokage-designate start the list."

The count of techniques was literally that -- it was a count of how many techniques the appointed person could do. All the candidate was required to do was to say the name of the technique, and if there were no objections he could move on to the next one. If someone did object, however, a demonstration of some sort could be called for. It was going to be a long, tedious project, but according to the law Naruto was required to do it.

"My first technique," Naruto called out in a clear voice. "Is straight punch from horse stance."

The first few hundred techniques should not include any surprises. Just about every Academy student -- and most non-Academy students -- knew the first two hundred techniques from hand to hand combat training. It was almost impossible to grow up in Konoha -- or virtually any Ninja village -- and not know those techniques.

However, Umino refused to see it that way. "I wish to see a demonstration!" he deanded nearly at the top of his voice.

Naruto sighed, got into a horse stance, and threw the punch -- with precision, accuracy, and grace. When everyone was satisfied and moved on. "My second technique is high punch from horse stance."

"I demand my right to see a demonstation!" Umino cried again.

Sitting from her spot in the guest pen, Sakura sighed. "This looks like it's going to be a long evening."

* * *

Tenten knocked on the door of the brothel's office. "Hello, is Kireme-sensei in?"

The Madame glanced up and gave her a nervous smile. Ever since that night that she had shown up to the brothel drunk and with a student in tow, Tenten sensed that the Madame wasn't quite sure how to deal with her. Still, she remained as polite and helpful as she always had. "Yes, dear, I'll go get her for you."

It wasn't long before Kireme arrived, smiling pleasantly at the kunoichi. "Hello, Tenten-chan. What can I do for you?"

Tenten smiled. "I have to leave for a prolonged mission shortly, where I'll be helping Lee-kun to expand the scope of his current mission. This means I'll have to withdraw from your class for this session."

Kireme's smile slipped slightly. "Oh, that's a shame -- you seemed to finally be starting to see the advantages of the course."

Tenten smiled hesitantly. "Well... I suppose that maybe I was. But it's not like I have a choice..."

Kireme's eyes narrowed slightly. "And what about Lee-kun -- will you be working with him much on this mission?"

Tenten flushed. "Well, I am supposed to put myself 'under his command...'"

Kireme laughed. "Oh, I'll just bet you will. But keep in mind that he's probably not expecting anything too forward from you, so go gently... and remember what I told you about removing spandex suits off of men."

The kunoichi's blush deepened. "Um, right. I'll remember."

"Oh, and there's one thing you might want..." Kireme began, walking over to her office desk and looking through a drawer. She pulled a small bag out and handed it to her. "You might want this."

Ino looked inside, and saw -- among a number of small items she couldn't immediately identify -- a bottle of fine sake, even better than the bottle she had given to Lee before he left. "Thank you," she said. "I'm sure this will be better for Lee-kun than any of the rotgut he usually uses for his drunken boxing style."

Kireme nodded. "There's some other items in there I'm sure the two of you will find just as useful."

"Oh?" Tenten asked, digging into the bag to pull something out. "What?"

"Massage oil," Kireme replied. "Naruto and Sakura swear it's some of the best stuff around for adding a little spice into their sex lives."

Tenten nearly dropped the bottle she was holding, but then slowly put it back into the bag. She thought long and hard about how to reply, before she realized just what she wanted to say. "Well... I'll let you know if I agree with them."

* * *

"For my two hundred seventh technique," Naruto said, his voice still clear but nevertheless sounding rather bored. "I have the bunshin no jutsu."

"I insist on seeing you perform this technique," Umino demanded for the two hundred and seventh time.

"Oh, this is long past ridiculous," Tsunade snapped. "By virtue of his graduating the Academy as a genin, we already know he can perform the first two hundred and fourty techniques, at least -- every student who does not have a waiver, which Naruto-dono never obtained, must demonstrate a mastery of all the basic techniques that Konoha teaches. Umino-san, either remove your objection to the waiver, or add some sense to your challenges, but quit challenging the techniques that everyone knows he can do and everyone has seen him perform. All you are doing is wearing him out, and testing the patience of every citizen in Konoha."

"It is my right to ask to see every technique he claims he can do with my own eyes, provided it is not a kinjutsu as certified by the council," Umino insisted. "He has successfully registered one hundred fourty seven of his techniques as kinjutsu, but I have a right to see all eight hundred fifty three of the remaining techniques he is required to perform. And I will do so -- I will not trust his word, nor the word of those whose his influence has corrupted, as proof that he can perform these techniques."

Naruto's eyes twitched. "It's alright, Tsunade-sama," he said. "He can challenge me to see any technique he wants."

Tsunade had a bad feeling in her gut at the look in his eyes, but nodded. "Very well. Perform the bunshin."

Naruto easily accomplished the technique that had given him so many fits in his Academy days, and then dispelled the images. "My two hundred eighth technique," he intoned, "Is the Harem no Jutsu."

Ino fell out of her chair in surprise, and Sakura slapped a hand over her eyes in frustration. "Naruto... what are you thinking?" Sakura whispered to herself.

Iruka, sitting between Ino and Ayame, blinked. "I'm not familiar with that technique. You seem to know what it is, though, Ino-chan, and you don't exactly look happy..."

Ino sighed, reclaiming her chair. "Remember the 'sexy no jutsu?'"

Iruka suddenly wasn't sure he really wanted to know, but continued anyway. "Uh... yeah."

"Think that, combined with kage bunshin," she whispered back, shaking her head.

"Oh... no. Naruto, don't--"

"I have never even heard of this technique," Umino called, not paying any attention to the junior member of his clan who he regarded as a traitor for supporting the boy that was the kyuubi. "I insist you demonstrate it!"

Naruto grinned evilly. "Oh, if you insist. This is actually an improved version of the original technique that some of you are familiar with, adapted from a varient of the kage bunshin that Ino-chan taught me." He turned and waved to the blond girl. "Thanks for the help, by the way."

Ino, trying to hide her face behind her hands, waved him off. "Don't mention it. _Please_ don't mention it..."

"Harem no jutsu!"

Without the former interim step of a normal kage bunshin, a cloud of smoke revealed Naruto standing in the middle of a throng of naked, blond, female versions of himself, smoke still obscuring the important bits of each clone. "Umino-sama!" the girl-clones chorused in a high pitched, seductive manner, swarming on him. "Umino-sama!" they called again, crawling over themselves to get into his alcove. "Umino-sama!"

Chaos broke out in the council chambers. Ayame had painfully slapped her hand over Iruka's eyes, keeping his eyes from seeing the sight, but not every male had the same somewhat dubious fortune. Men were passing out from nosebleeds left and right, Jiraiya -- unable to resist -- pulled out pen and paper and started taking notes for the next volume of Icha Icha Paradise, Shino simply enjoyed the scene without letting on to the world that he was enjoying the simulated female flesh, and Hiashi... well, Hiashi was unable to keep from laughing right alongside Naruto. That is, until Sakura left her place in the guest's pen, and advanced upon Naruto to start berating him for even considering showing the council such a technique -- then he was laughing by himself.

As the clones -- which Naruto no longer completely controlled, having given them somewhat independent thought as a side effect of summoning them with Ino's kage bunshin variant -- gradually wore out the small amount of chakra they had been granted for the 'demonstration,' order was slowly restored. When the last clone was dissipated and the last unconscious man was revived or carried out of the room, Naruto -- now free from Sakura -- turned to address Umino with a dangerous smile on his face. "Do you still wish to see all of my techniques, Umino-san? I actually have well over a thousand, enough to completely avoid all of my 'perverted ninjutsu' techniques, but if you're going to insist on seeing every technique I can do, I'll continue with the other one hundred twenty three perverted ninjutsu techniques."

Sakura, back in her seat, twitched. "He only showed me a hundred and seven techniques for that style," she snorted softly. "Naruto-kun, you and I will be having a _long_ talk when this vote is over."

Umino, his clothes stained with his own blood and his heart racing so hard he was afraid he would have a heart attack, shook his head. "I... I remove my objection. The technique count can be waived."

"Well, I object," Jiraiya said, grinning slightly. "I've only seen twelve of those techniques, and I insist on seeing the rest of them."

Tsunade's eyes twitched. "The council will ignore Jiraiya-sama's objection, as he has no official standing here."

"Without any, uh, valid objections?" Homura called, looking as if he was just a step away from a heart attack, himself.

"I would like to ask the Hokage-designate a question before deciding whether to object or not," Hiashi replied.

Homura seemed to think about it before nodding. "It is allowable. Go ahead."

"For what purpose is this, uh, 'perverted ninjutsu' used?" Hiashi asked. He knew he was almost certainly going to vote for Naruto, but -- as amusing as the technique's most recent application was -- it lead to some serious concerns about Naruto's fitness for the job. At the very least, he deserved the opportunity to clear the air about it, if for no reason than to alleviate the fears of those council members who might still be on the fence. "Most would assume, from your reputation, that it's primary function is as a practical joke, but it sounds as if you've actually spent a considerable amount of time developing it -- more than the amount of time I would expect someone with serious intentions to become hokage to spend on practical jokes."

Naruto grinned, knowing what the Hyuuga patriarch was trying to do. "It has many functions, actually," Naruto began. "The very first technique I consider a part of my 'perverted ninjutsu' arsenal was initially a simple varient of the henge. In certain applications, that varient is a kinjutsu -- and you will note the 'sexy no jutsu,' this first technique of perverted ninjutsu, is on the scroll of registered kinjutsu that the council had approved prior to this meeting. The reason for that is that this technique is a training form of that kinjutsu, also known as the 'hokage no jutsu,' a suicide technique that turns the user into a ball of fire."

That caused mutters among the gathered crowd. "When was this technique developed?" Inoichi Yamanaka asked, already knowing the answer from the stolen memories Ino had shared with him years before.

"While I was still an Academy student," Naruto explained, causing more mutters. For such a dangerous technique to be developed at such a young age was rare, to say the least. "Now, when testing the 'sexy no jutsu,' I notice what might be called an obvious trend -- many older men would be momentarily stunned, if they didn't downright pass out, when suddenly confronted with such a sight. There are always situations where a ninja may want to subdue a friendly target without hurting him, and so I began occasionally using the 'sexy no jutsu' and 'harem no jutsu' to disable friendlies. I never used it during serious situations, or during training exercises where such a distraction might unfairly skew the results of what I could actually do, but I would occasionally add a variation or even a completely original technique to the set I started calling my 'perverted ninjutsu.' Finally, a brothel worker from Blossom named Kireme Sakura, who wanted to learn enough ninja techniques to qualify as a ninja auxilliary in order to be our liscenced instructor in courtesan training, agreed to work with me to develop the technique set further in exchange for instruction in the basic techniques. For her, it was saving face -- I was willing to teach her for free, but she would not accept the service without some form of repayment, and as I had no need for her... services, it seemed like a fair arrangement."

"That's not how I remember it," Sakura muttered to herself again. "But I suppose a half-truth works, in this case."

"Oh?" Iruka said, overhearing. "In what way is it a half-truth?"

"She really did help him develop the techniques," Sakura said, "But that was long before the training he is talking about. She offered to continue working with him on the techniques in exchange for that training, but to the best of my knowledge he never took her up on that."

"He did," Ino replied. "And you should know, since it was the combo technique the two of you pulled as a prank at the wedding. Kireme-chan told me he wanted 'something special' he could do with you, and that she gave him a suggestion that she said I would see at your wedding day."

Sakura blushed. "I can't believe he talked me into that one."

"Don't knock it," Ino chuckled, keeping her laughter down so as not to disrupt the proceedings. "I thought it was great, and I think everyone else did, too."

Turning their attention back to the council proceedings, they realized that they had failed to hear Hiashi's acceptance of Naruto's explanation and the council agreeing to move on to the next step of his confirmation. "...one representative, and a second, to debate before the vote. Who will stand and represent the opposition to Naruto-dono?"

There was a brief pause. The Hyuuga matriarch looked rather frustrated, but the rules wouldn't allow her to speak despite being the leader of the opposition. She only had one third of the Hyuuga seat, and unless either Hinata or Hiashi agreed she could not take any stand in any debate -- she could take the role of second, but not the top role. Fortunately, even though her first proxy speaker -- Umino -- had humiliated himself beyond usefulness, she had other pawns willing to do her dirty work. Including one she was sure would demoralize his base. With a nod, she signalled that man to proceed.

"I, patriarch of the Hatake clan, will lead the opposition to Naruto-san's confirmation. I believe he is unfit for the job, and will do my best to prove it."

That caused several people in the audience -- most members of the Hatake clan themselves -- to grumble angrilly. Others seemed to support him, but even they were wary at the man's betrayal of the consensus view of his clan. There were things a council member could do regardless of what others in his clan felt, but for something as important as the confirmation of a hokage it was deemed morally unacceptable for a clan head to act in opposition to his own clan.

However, his claim to speak for the Hatake was legitimate, and Homura recognized it. "Very well. Hatake-dono may come to the podium. Will anyone act as your second in this debate?"

"I will," the Hyuuga matriarch declared as expected, stepping forward.

"Do you object to Hyuuga-dono acting as your second, Hatake-dono?" Homura asked.

"None whatsoever, Homura-dono."

"Very well," Homura replied. "Come to the podium, Hyuuga-dono. Who will stand and represent the supporters for Naruto-dono?"

The natural choice would usually be the head of the clan that the candidate belonged to, but in Naruto's case most people believed he had no clan to represent for him. The next most logical choice would be the head of the Haruno clan, but Sakura's mother was busy picking forest debris off of her clothes, and not looking concerned at all. No-one, however, was expecting the next person to stand for him.

"I will take the podium for my husband," Sakura declared, stepping out from the visitor's pen.

Homura frowned. "You are not eligible, Sakura-san. Even as the Hokage-designate's wife, you have no formal standing here. Your mother represents the Haruno clan on this council, and so you may not."

"But I am not here to represent the Haruno clan," Sakura explained, then dramatically walked over to a long-abandoned alcove in the chamber. "As the wife of the last surviving member of the Uzumaki clan, I will take the seat to represent my husbands clan. The Uzumaki clan will stand in support of its own, and I will represent it."

Again, that got the audience talking. Many people disassociated Naruto from the legendary Uzumaki of the past, but Tsunade herself had confirmed he was the son of the Fourth -- the last known Uzumaki alive. As his wife, she would be responsible for helping him to restore his clan... and that included giving his clan representation on the council. Tsunade looked pleased, but startled. Naruto, Konoha's number one ninja at surprising people, had apparently worked out one more surprise with his wife... and it just might work out to give him the title of Hokage, despite the opposition he was facing.

Homura frowned, but he could think of no way to prevent her from taking the seat. "Very well. Sakura Uzumaki-dono, you may come to the podium. Will anyone act as your second in this debate."

At this, Sakura's mother looked up. Her original plan, made with Sakura just a few weeks before, would have her acting as second. However, she was concerned that her physical appearance, after the difficult trip to Konoha, would react negatively towards Naruto's candidacy. Fortunately, after a moment's hesitation, she learned that she didn't need to worry. A fierce smile and nod from Tsunade sent someone else into motion.

"I will speak as his second," came yet another voice from the pen. Ino blinked, looking to her side to see Ayame standing up. Iruka was smiling the craftiest smile Ino had ever seen on her former sensei's face, and suddenly Ino knew this was something he had been planning for some time. Ayame leapt over the pen's gate, and walked over to one of the other long-abandoned alcoves. "I am aware that it takes sponsorship, a willingness to share some technique, and the general recognition of the Council as an invaluable resource to Konoha in order for a new clan to name someone to the council, but I do not belong to a 'new' clan. My clan has long discontinued its role as ninja, but all we need to return to the council is one person qualified to act as a ninja. I have taken an equivalency exam, and am now a certified reserve in the rolls. So I, Anraku Ayame, will take the seat abandoned by my ancestors, and my clan will stand in support of Naruto-dono as the second."

Suddenly, it clicked in Ino's head -- Tsunade and Iruka had been planning this for years. That explained why Teuchi and Ayame had retired, why Ayame always seemed so interested in her and Iruka's plans, why Tsunade never seemed concerned about Naruto's confirmation. Even Ayame and Iruka's relationship -- as obviously real as it was -- likely started because he had been tutoring her in ninja techniques to pass the reservists exam. Sakura taking the Uzumaki seat threw everyone for a loop, even Tsunade, but this was something that several people had expected. Even, Ino realized, the Hyuuga matriach -- that was why she had attempted to assassinate Ayame two weeks before. It occured to Ino that she had never even realized Teuchi or Ayame's last name, but it should have been obvious -- after all, the Anraku clan, who's name meant comfort, would be the ones to name a ramen specialty store meant to be run by one person (though Ayame later joined on as an apprentice and waitress) the Ichiraku, or One Comfort.

Homura sighed. Some days, things just didn't go in as orderly a fashion as he would have liked. "Oh, hell. Sakura Uzumaki-dono, do you have any objection to Anraku-dono acting as your second?"

Sakura, a bit confused, glanced over at her mother. Getting a shrug in response, all she could do was shrug back. "I have no objection."

"Very well," Homura said, shaking his head. "Anraku Ayame, you may come to the podium."

The debate lasted for two hours, and was heavilly one-sided. As cultured as the Hyuuga matriarch was, and as politically saavy she and Hatake were known to be, the objections they raised would have been regarded by even the most remotely unbiased observer as utterly ridiculous. Sakura and Ayame, meanwhile, while not nearly as polished in their debating skills, were brutal in the way they shot every argument against down, and in how they put forward arguments that could not otherwise be countered. They brought out sworn affidavits by Kakashi, Iruka, Teuchi, and others of how the Third Hokage had often discussed with others his belief as to how great of a hokage Naruto could be. In a court of law, those affidavits would have been thrown out as heresay, but this was a debate and not a court of law. Sakura recounted every example of leadership Naruto demonstrated in Blossom. Ayame recounted story after story of how Naruto would go around helping people, from giving young children such as Konohamaru free ramen vouchers -- the same free ramen vouchers that he essentially lived on, meaning that by giving one away he would need to skip a meal -- to help comfort them in times of distress. As more and more came to light about Naruto's achievements and character, even many of his most fervent doubters began to change their minds about him.

The problem was, even with two extra votes, the loss of Mitarashi had doomed Naruto's chances. Ino had been thinking about it over the hours that the confirmation process had been ongoing, and realized that with Hatake and Mitarashi on the side against, even if everyone else voted for him he would wind up with a twelve to twelve tie. There was no tie-breaking vote, but rather the abstension the Uchiha clan would deliver would be counted as a no, so a tie was as good as a loss... and that meant it was all for naught.

Finally, however, the debates ended. Even Homura seemed to be regarding Naruto with a little more respect, but the people Iruka had identified as certain no votes for Naruto looked as obstinant about their decision as they could get. "We now call for the vote to take place. The vote will be in random order, as determined by draw," the Council President announced. He reached into a box next to him and pulled out a tile. He couldn't believe this was the first tile to call. "Um... Uchiha clan!"

For a moment, everyone held their breath. This day had seen the return of not one, but two clans long thought lost to Konoha's ranks. It was almost as if everyone was anticipating that Uchiha Sasuke would march through the door and declare he was voting on their behalf.

After a long moment, Tsunade broke the ice. "It appears as if the Uchiha Clan is not present, and so their vote should be counted as an abstention."

"So noted," Homura sighed in relief, marking down the Uchiha's default vote in the formal records before pulling out a new tile. "Uchiha abstains. Hagane clan!"

"The Hagane clan votes no."

"Hagane votes no. Akadou clan!"

"The Akadou clan votes no."

"Akadou votes no. Gekko Clan!"

There was a long hesitation before the head of the Gekko clan said anything, but a glare from the Hyuuga Matriarch prompted him to speak. "The Gekko clan... regretfully... must vote no."

People were starting to mutter, now. No hokage-designate had ever been denied, yet now -- with just four votes in -- there were three votes to deny his confirmation, and an abstension. By this point, most of the people who had suffered through the long day were fervently in support of Naruto, but it seemed as if the clan heads were going to vote him down. For the first time in a long time, people started to wonder if the clan system was the right one for Konoha.

"Gekko votes no. Morino clan," Homura called.

Morino stepped forward, glaring at the people who had already voted no. Gekko couldn't meet his gaze, but the other two stared back defiantly. "The Morino clan thinks anyone who votes against Naruto-dono doesn't deserve to lead a clan, much less to sit on the council. The Morino clan votes Aye." Then, with a wink to the astonished Ino, he sat back down.

That comment brought cheers from the crowd, making it impossible for Homura to continue until some semblence of order could again be restored. Finally, however, people had quieted down enough for him to speak.

"Morino votes Aye," he said, his voice rising above the cheers. People started settling down, remembering that the vote had yet to finish. "Hatake clan."

"The Hatake clan votes no," Hatake noted.

That caused another brief eruption as several members of the Hatake clan leapt down from the balcony. One of them stepped forward. "Homura-dono, we of the Hatake clan would like to challenge our patriarch's competency, and ask that his vote be removed from the record until such time as an internal clan investigation proves whether or not he is serving our clan's best interests, or his own."

Hatake's eyes widened. "Why you treacherous sons of bitches, I'll have you ostracized for this!" he growled.

Homura just shook his head. He was far too old for this. "Hatake-dono has been registered as your clan representative for many years, now. While you have every right to challenge his competency, you cannot change your clan's vote after it has been made. Hatake votes No."

The stricken members of the Hatake clan turned to regard their clan head with loathing. Anyone in the room could feel the killing intent between Hatake and his clansmen, but there was nothing anyone could do about this vote. However, several members of the clan grabbed Hatake and dragged him out of the room while he struggled, and it was only after they were all gone that the vote could continue.

"As I said," Homura continued. "Hatake votes no. Maito clan!"

"Aye," came the quick reply, the Maito clan head not even bothering with the formal phrasing.

"Maito votes Aye," Homura sighed, again, thinking of retirement. "Umino clan."

Iruka, inspired by the actions of the Hatake, decided to try something himself. "I, a member of the Umino clan, challenge my patriarch's competency, and ask that he be replaced before he can vote with someone who will make an unbiased decision. He ignored the concerns of his fellow clan members, his behavior in these proceedings has shown clear bias and stupidity, and he is in the pocket of Hyuuga-dono, and outspoken critic of Naruto-dono. He is also the only other possible person who could have known of Ayame's testing for the ninja reserves, and I believe he informed on my teaching her. The person who he reported to apparently set up an assassination attempt for her, one that involved a near lethal attack on a member of our clan -- namely, me. These things all demonstrate that he lacks the fitness to lead, and therefore I request that an internal investigation be completed before he has a chance to vote."

Before Homura could say anything one way or the other, Umino jumped from his seat and ran at his junior. "Why you little pipsqueak, I'll kill you!"

Iruka, unprepared for the assault while in full view of the entire council and hundreds of citizens of Konoha, could only stare in shock as his clan head charged at him, a hidden weapon drawn and aimed at his heart. He started to perform the seals for a replacement technique, but a moments hesitation as he tried to find something to replace himself with cost him any chance of completing it in time.

Fortunately, there were other ninja who could move faster. A split second before a kodachi blade would have been six inches deep into his heart, Naruto was standing between the two members of the Umino clan, his hand clenched so tightly on the clan patriarch's wrist that the bones were surely in danger of breaking underneath. "Stop!" he commanded.

Umino tried to resist, pulling his hand away, but that didn't get Naruto to release him. Instead, all it managed to do was to get his wrist to snap. "Aagh!" he cried in pain.

Naruto, still holding on with an unrelenting grip, turned to look at his one-time Academy instructor. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei, but I don't need you to do this. I'd hate to lose you..." He cocked his head in the direction of the terrified Ayame. "And so would some others, I suspect. As for you, Umino-dono..." His grip tightened, grinding the shards of bone together and forcing him to drop his sword. "It would be wise not to attack my friends in front of me, understand?"

Umino stared in horror at his mangled wrist, but then glanced up in defiance. "The Umino clan," he called, his voice cracking. "Votes no."

Homura hesitated, but Naruto nodded at him. "Um... while the challenge is noted, once more it is too late at this time to replace the representative of the Umino clan. He votes no, and therefore Umino votes no."

Naruto smiled at Iruka. "Thanks for trying, Iruka-sensei, but don't worry -- things will work out. I will become hokage some day, even if I have to wait until I'm nominated again."

Iruka slowly nodded back. "If you say so, Naruto."

"Now, Umino-dono... go back to your seat. If you behave, then maybe one of the medical ninja -- who I'll remind you are _all_ in my corner -- will take a look at your wrist when this is over, okay?"

Umino paled as the realization dawned on him. Between Shizune in Blossom, and Sakura and Tsunade in Konoha, the principle leaders of the medical community in Konoha were, indeed, all in support of Naruto. Undoubtedly, they would influence their subordinates to support him as well... which no-one, not even the Hyuuga matriarch whose genius was thought to be unquestionable by her supporters, had ever considered.

"Shiranui clan," Homura called, hoping this vote would go normally.

There was a very long pause. "We are of mixed feelings, in the Shiranui clan. If we could withhold our vote until we knew what the decision of the council was, we would, but that is not possible. Since withholding a vote is not acceptable in this circumstance, and we must make a decision now..." He glanced over at Naruto, who seemed unconcerned, then to Sakura who looked anxious, then to the furious Hyuuga matriarch and to the pale-faced Umino. "I do not like the behavior of those I am siding with, but I must vote as my clan decided upon before the council hearings began. It is possible my clan may have changed its view hearing these proceedings, as I have, but I -- unlike Hatake and Umino, who voted in contradiction of their clan's beliefs -- will side with what I honestly believe my clan's decision to be. For the record, Shiranui votes no, though I, personally, would rather vote aye."

Homura nodded. "Shiranui votes No. Nara clan!"

At this point, despite a few moral victories with the Morino clans' statement, the Hatake and Umino clan's rebellion, and the Shiranui clan's reluctance, Naruto's camp was starting to feel the pinch. Currently, at two to six against, with one abstension, things looked pretty bleak. However, a tide of votes for Naruto started turning things around. "Nara votes aye."

"Nara, aye. Haruno clan!"

"Haruno votes aye, obviously."

"Haruno, aye. Inuzuka clan!"

"Inuzuka votes aye," the Inuzuka matriarch proclaimed

"Inuzuka, aye. Aburame!"

"If I'd had any doubts, they disappeared during this session. Aburame votes aye."

"Aburame, aye. Tsurugi!"

"Tsurugi votes no." The first no vote in a while, just as Naruto was about to catch up, cast a bit of a pallor over the crowd, but things were moving at the speed they were expected to move, now, so Homura kept going before they could respond.

"Tsurugi, no. Sarutobi!"

"Sarutobi votes aye."

"Sarutobi, aye. Yamashiro!"

"Yamashiro votes no."

"Yamashiro, no. Anraku!"

"I think it's pretty obvious we're voting aye."

"Anraku, aye. Yuuhi!"

"Our clan is split, but I believe we should vote no."

"Yuuhi, no. Yamanaka!"

"Yamanaka votes aye."

"Yamanaka, aye. Uzumaki!"

"Like I would vote against my husband? Aye!"

"Uzumaki, aye. Hyuuga!"

"By a split decision of the three factions, the Hyuuga clan votes aye," Hiashi announced.

"Hyuuga, aye. Kamizuki!"

"We vote no."

"Kamizuki, no. Akimichi!"

"Aye."

"Akimichi votes aye. Tatami!"

"Tatami will vote against this candidate, though the law makes it impossible for use to state why."

"Tatami, no," Homura repeated. It was the first even remotely veiled reference to the kyuubi, which was a surprise as it was also the next to last vote to go. Naruto had twelve votes for him, and eleven votes with one abstension against him. It looked like he would be defeated, however, as everyone knew which way the next vote would go -- they had never approved a hokage in all of Konoha's existance, and it didn't seem likely they would now. Homura briefly -- very briefly -- felt sorry for the boy. "Mitarashi!"

The head of the Mitarashi clan said nothing for a very long time before she got up and walked over to Naruto. People started muttering, wondering what was going on, as she slowly walked around the young man, glancing all around him as if looking for something. Finally, she grabbed one of his hands, and pulled out a kunai. Gasps came from everyone as she sliced a small wound into his hand, but as he didn't even flinch no-one moved to defend him. Forcing some of his blood out of he wound, the Mitarashi licked it for a second, savoring the taste before utilizing her clan's bloodline specialty to analyze that blood. Everyone present knew of the Mitarashi shecial technique, so no-one was questioning just why she was doing this, but it still seemed very odd and not just a little creepy.

"The Mitarashi clan," she finally said. "Would never vote against the son of one of our own daughters. He is the son of the Fourth Hokage, who we could care less about but everyone else knew as the greatest Hokage in our history, even during his very short reign. However, he is also the son of Mitarashi Anko, our prodigal daughter, and therefore we cannot help but vote Aye!"

The chaos and pandimonium that erupted after that announcement -- both confirming Naruto as hokage and announcing him to be the son of the infamous Anko -- did not abate for several minutes. But the chaos didn't matter -- as Sakura left her seat and ran to embrace her husband in congratulations, and Tsunade tried to bring everyone back in order, Homura completed his duty recording the vote and announcing the decision.

Naruto was now the Sixth Hokage, and nothing could ever change that.

* * *

Author's Notes: The significance of Sakura taking the Uzumaki seat may not be completely clear, but if you'll recall Hana and Futaba's mother had to retire to the reserves in order to take her clan seat. So yes, for those who asked, Sakura did retire when she got married. 'Retirement' isn't exactly the same thing for a ninja of her level, however, as it would be for most people. She'll still have many ninja-related jobs, including being a council woman, working in the hospital, acting as Naruto's Advisor (as Homura and Koharu were for the Third), and so on. I just didn't think I needed to spell it all out.

Next Chapter: Council Business isn't over yet, as more than one traitor is revealed in their midst. Nanigoto Izuri meets with Tenten for the first time since the drunken night at the brothel.


	73. V4 Chapter 13

Volume 4

* * *

Chapter 13Nanigoto Izure paced across the floor of his apartment, then paced up the wall, then paced on the cieling. Being a ninja made nervous pacing very odd, sometimes, and this was one of those times -- he couldn't sit still, couldn't decide what to do, and couldn't stop thinking. He was an absolute mess, and he knew it... and he also knew he was almost certainly in a great deal of trouble. After all, he was supposed to be meeting with his team at the village gates, preparatory to a mission... but instead, he was here in his apartment, pacing on the cieling. 

A loud banging on his door startled him into releasing his chakra from the cieling and his crashing to the floor in a heap. "Open up, dammit! You're making us all late!"

"Shit!" Izure cursed, realizing that it was -- indeed -- his sensei outside. It was always possible to come up with some sort of satisfactory excuse if one of your teammates was bringing you in for being late, but if it was your sensei... then you really were in trouble. To make matters worse, Tenten was the person who'd had him all tied up in knots for the past several weeks. He hadn't needed to see her since that drunken night at the brothel, and so he'd been careful to stay well away from her. But when he got these new mission orders, he panicked -- what could he do? He had started thinking, which lead to the pacing, which lead to the being late, with lead to the pounding on his door by a very irate sensei.

Rushing to the door, he managed to get it open before she knocked it down. "Where have you been?" Tenten demanded, not waiting for him to even try and stutter off an apology.

"Sorry, sensei," Izure replied. "I lost track of time, and--"

"Save it!" she snapped angrily. She glanced around the room. "Where's your kit?"

"I haven't finished putting it together, yet," Izure explained, knowing that it would get him into even worse trouble, but not having any choice other than to be truthful.

Tenten sighed. "Fine. Let's get it together."

As Izure rushed to gather things together, Tenten started loading them into his bag for him. "So, why the hell did you lose track of time, anyway? And where have you been -- I haven't seen you since..."

"The brothel," Izure sighed, slowing down considerably. "Sorry, Tenten-sensei. I... I just haven't been sure how to act around you, since then."

"How to act around me?" Tenten replied, not understanding what he was talking about. Did something happen while they were drunk that she didn't remember?

Izure sighed, holding his head in his hands. "I remember saying something to you about maybe the two of us 'helping' each other end our virginal states, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the brothel near some girl who was... well, let's just say she was rather intent on me having a, uh, 'good time,' but wouldn't answer any questions about what happened to you. And, uh, there was a piece of your, uh, clothes in my hands."

Tenten winced, rubbing the temples of her head with one hand to work out the headache that was starting to develop. "Oh, good grief. And I thought Lee-kun jumped to conclusions, sometimes..."

"Huh?"

"As embarrasing as it is to say, I tore off my own panties and gave them to you," Tenten admitted, blushing. "But I was completely clothed at the time, otherwise, and I never took anything else off that night, either."

"How--"

"Don't ask," Tenten growled. "At any rate, I never did anything with you. I just... took you to the brothel, and paid for them to 'help' you." She paused, shaking her head. "I admit I was drunk -- I never would have done any of that, otherwise -- but I was at least in enough control that I knew better than to sleep with one of my students."

Izure blushed, sitting down and trying to hide his face. "Um, if you say so. I still feel rather bad about it all."

Tenten smiled at him slightly. "Hey, don't stop getting your stuff together -- we've still got a mission to go on."

"Oh, right," he replied, standing up and rushing around to get the last of his things. When he was all packed, Tenten handed him his bag... but she didn't let it go right away.

"Just one thing..."

"Yes, sensei?"

She grinned slightly. "I paid for your night in that brothel. I want to know -- did you get my money's worth?"

* * *

Much to Anko's surprise, the village was quite enthused about her being Naruto's mother. Some who were old enough to remember recalled how much the Fourth had loved her, and how disappointed he was when she left for Orochimaru. If anything, instead of hurting Naruto's reputation, she helped hers and the Fourth's -- everyone was pleased that the Fourth had found happiness before he died, and his acceptance of her brought their acceptance of her.

People had started to leave, and the balcony had essentially cleared out, but none of the council -- save for Hatake, who had been carried off by his own clan, and Umino, who had been taken to the hospital to have his wrist restored -- had left. Ayame and Iruka were chatting pleasantly in the Anraku alcove, Sakura had joined a group that were talking pleasantly that included Naruto, Anko, her mother, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. There was some good-natured debate between Anko, Tsunade, and the Haruno matriarch as to which role each should take, whether it be aunt, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, older sister, or something else. Jiraiya had unanimously been declared the 'dirty old uncle-figure,' after trying to argue he had to have some role if they did. Naruto was just pleased to finally have achieved his dream, and to realize that he suddenly had a much larger family out there as Mitarashi had proclaimed. He was a 'scion of one of the Mitarashi daughters,' and while he formally belonged to another clan, the Mitarashi would forever grant him the priviledges belonging to any member of their clan. Of course, Sakura's mother was quick to point out that, as the husband of her daughter, he also had the same priviledges with the Haruno clan. Tsunade trumped them all by pointing out that, as Hokage, he should have been granted all of those rights and priviledges, anyway.

Homura, however, brought everyone's attention to one thing. "Ahem. As interesting as the day has been, and as much as I'm longing for an end to it, I must point out that the council is, technically, still in session. Do we have any further business, or can I have a motion to close the meeting?"

Tsunade's eyes widened, and she sent a questioning look Naruto's way. He seemed a bit surprised, but then collected himself and nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Yes," Tsunade called. "We have additional business that we, as a council, must address. I think we weren't... quite ready to present all of the facts we wanted, but we have enough that we should take this occasion to deal with these problems."

She proceeded to the Hokage's alcove at the front of the room -- joined, somewhat awkwardly, by Naruto. There, they had a bit more confusion, as there was only one chair for the two of them, but eventually they seemed to agree that Naruto should stand while Tsunade sat. Iruka, Anko, and some of the others who had drifted into the council alcoves -- including Ino, who had been talking with her parents, Shino, who had been taking the opportunity to apologize profusely to Kiba and Hinata, Hana and Futaba, who were talking with their mother, and the teams belonging to Naruto and Sakura, who had both been waiting to offer their congratulations both on the wedding and on Naruto's successful bid to become hokage. It seemed as if everyone would have to wait to finish what they were doing.

Tsunade's acoustically amplified voice sounded unusually loud in the room, now that the crowds who were acting as living sound baffles had disappeared. "For some time now," she began, "I have suspected that we had some sort of infiltration inside of the village by foriegn ninja. A recent investigation into a completely different matter has shed some light on the subject, and for that I turn to Naruto-dono. He led that investigation, and so he should be the one to explain what we have found."

Naruto stepped to the forefront. "It started with an investigation of a certain member of the Aburame clan, who was believed to be misusing his family techniques in order to make voyeuristic observations of the bedroom activities of a young woman of his acquaintance." He'd talked to Shino about putting that little half-truth before the council, and it had been a very near thing, but Shino had agreed that it would be significantly more diplomatic than to say that they were investigating whether the Hyuuga matriarch was using the Aburame to spy on her daughter. That would antagonize both the Hyuuga and the Aburame, which would not have been a good thing. "I will not name names, as he has made restitution and been forgiven by the offended party, but during that investigation other things came up. The combined efforts of members of the Aburame clan and the Inuzuka clan were required to sort out some scent trails, and what we found was a Rock Ninja had been inside the apartment of one of the faction leaders for the Hyuuga about a month ago. Later investigation found the same scent patterns around the current residence of a second leader of the Hyuuga clan. We have yet to ask the third faction leader, but it is our belief this Rock ninja has been inside her residence as well."

The Hyuuga matriarch tensed, knowing that she had been discovered when Naruto glared at her. She almost bolted, but disciplined herself to stay at least until some formal accusation was made. There wasn't anyone in the room who could keep her from escaping, if the need arised, but to do so would be to give up all authority over her clan... and she didn't want to make that sacrifice if it wasn't warranted. It was possible that she was only a suspect, still, and if that was the case she could throw off any pursuit.

"Tracking the movements of this Rock ninja proved difficult, as he had been all over Konoha. Artifacts of his movement have been discovered in the hospital, the hokage's tower, the jail -- where, we learned, certain ninja who had been undergoing disciplinary procedure but who were believed to be loyal to Konoha were killed, including multiple members of the Hyuuga clan who had been imprisoned for fighting on the streets, a young man who was turning states evidence about a spy inside another major clan, and the ANBU agent who had been assigned to guard that wing of the jail -- and various restaurants and stores across the village, all of whom had been reporting minor thefts over the past few years that no prior investigation had found any evidence on. It is believed this Rock ninja was supporting himself, in part, by stealing food and supplies, while also spying on several of Konoha's major clans."

That statement included a lot of things even the Matriarch was unaware of about her Rock agent. She had certainly never sent him to the jail to kill her fellow Hyuuga clansmen -- while many of those in jail belonged to her erstwhile husband's faction or her daughter's, she had long believed most of the 'underlings' that followed her daughter and husband could be brought into the proper discipline once their leaders were gone. Besides, she wouldn't want him drawing attention to himself by stealing things around the village or assassinating people -- that was not why she had hired him, after all. And why would he have ever been in the hospital? Few of any faction of her clan ever went there, and none of them were important enough to spy on.

Naruto took a pause before continuing. "We are convinced that someone allowed this Rock ninja into Konoha for reasons of their own." Here, he glared at the Hyuuga matriarch, who stiffened guiltily, but then shook his head sadly. "And while we have our suspicions, we are still gathering proof as to who that someone is. What we do know is that, once inside, he made contact with others who were known sympathizers of Orochimaru."

That caused a more general reaction of surprise. There was no reason for anyone from Rock to have any dealings with anyone from Orochimaru's camp, as far as they knew... but then again, there had been no reason for anyone to believe Orochimaru had been running the village of the Sound, or that he had been dealing with the Sand, or any number of other things he had been doing over the years. His motivations always had been something of a mystery.

The clan head from Akadou stood up. In a voice that, listening closely, one might hear just a bit of tenseness, he asked, "Who are these known sympathizers, and why has nothing been done about them before?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at Akadou, and he nodded slowly. "Funny you should ask that," he said. "Keep in mind I said 'sympathizers,' not 'traitors' or 'spies' or anything of the sort. Simply people who were known to believe that Orochimaru should have been the hokage instead of the Fourth, who felt that he should never have been ostracized and chased out of the village to become a missing nin, and who never repented from that belief. Many of those same sympathizers fought against him in the Sand-Sound War, so we cannot prove they are disloyal in any way. Or rather, we couldn't prove it... until now. At first, we thought it was just a few individuals who were all of the same clan. We later realized the entire clan was involved. And that clan is the Akadou clan, Akadou-dono. Your entire clan has been conspiring to promote Orochimaru, and we believe this Rock ninja is involved in that conspiracy."

Akadou was almost frozen, though a slight tremor gave away the fact that he was either very angry... or very worried. "And what evidence do you have of this?"

"Well, we had the Inuzuka and the Aburame spend several days tracing the roots our Rock visitor took, and he usually wound up in meetings with members of the Akadou clan. There was the informer who was murdered in prison, who had been telling us a number of interesting things about a connection between Orochimaru and the Akadou, though even he wasn't as sure about just when that connection began or how it manifests itself today. Then we had the Aburame listen in on several discussions you had been having recently between your clan leaders." Naruto smiled dangerously. "We know you've been using this Rock ninja to feed information through to Orochimaru. We aren't exactly happy about it. Would you like to give us some sort of explanation before you and your whole clan are sentenced to death, or should we just kill you all now?"

Akadou seemed like he wanted to protest, but then laughed bitterly. "I'll give you an explanation, all right. Yes, we support Orochimaru. Why wouldn't we? He was our creation in the first place!"

Tsunade tore out of her chair in surprise at that line, and even Jiraiya seemed shocked. "What are you talking about, 'your creation.' He was a member of the Tsurugi clan, not the Akadou clan!"

"He believed he was, yes," Akadou admitted. "But that was only because he had forgotten what he once was. It was brilliant, you see -- we were creating the most powerful weapon in Konoha's history, and no-one knew about it. We had allies in the Tsurugi clan who were in on the conspiracy, of course, but even they didn't know everything. They thought he was an 'altered' member of the Tsurugi clan who had been born of a woman containing a lesser demon, but in truth... he had no Tsurugi blood in him."

The leader of the Tsurugi clan looked astonished. "Orochimaru's treachery has been our clan's greatest shame for decades... and now you tell us that he wasn't a part of our clan at all?"

"Of course not!" Akadou laughed. "Did you never actually think about the name we insisted you use for him? Our plan was brilliant! We tracked down a greater demon, drained him of his chakra and spread that chakra all across our clan. We tortured and destroyed it... but then took the dying embers as our own. We initially intended to form a jinchuuriki out of him, but that wasn't possible... so, instead, we simply captured a number of medical ninja to alter his physical body and to destroy his memories. The Orochi no Yamato, the Eight Tailed Demon, was reborn as Orochimaru, the genius ninja from the Tsurugi clan. Of course, the Tsurugi clan members who were part of the conspiracy believed him to be a jinchuuriki, and the medical ninja had to all be killed to prevent them from telling anyone, but in the end we had the greatest weapon in all of history at our disposal!" He laughed. "And you all threw it away, by taking the useless Uzumaki Arashi as hokage, instead of him. You fools!"

"You're lying," Tsunade snapped. She had known Orochimaru before he turned evil, and he hadn't been the Orochi... had he? He'd never been a very... pleasant person, and he was always a little creepy, but then so were many of the Tsurugi clan. "If Orochimaru were one of the bijuu, why would he have ever joined Akatsuki? That makes no sense!"

"I told you, you silly bitch," Akadou cackled suicidally. "We changed him. We destroyed his memories, to the point he never _knew_ that he was the Orochi. Nor would anyone else, which is why he was a member of Akatsuki for so long without anyone ever knowing. But we created him... he was ours. He should never have been tossed from the village, for he was our tool, the great weapon of the Akadou clan. And you stole him from us!"

Tsunade looked pale, and Jiraiya was flabbergasted. Naruto seemed to be trembling slightly, and oddly Sakura was trembling in sync with him. "It was him!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Him who?" Tsunade asked, spinning to look at Sakura, to see what it was she had to say about this. She was startled to see red in her former apprentice's eyes, fangs showing just slightly. It wasn't Sakura who had first spoke, but Kyuubi.

Kyuubi was speaking through Naruto's voice who answered the question, however. "Orochi... he was the one who disturbed kyuubi's rest, who angered him and brought his wrath upon Konoha. Kyuubi would never have bothered with Konoha, had he not felt the power of Orochi no Yamato trying to steal his life force. He followed that chakra, tracking it for years... until he finally found Konoha, where the Orochi had disappeared. But the time... it had to have been after Orochi no Yamato became Orochimaru. Orochimaru... must have known who he was."

"His training for the chuunin exam," Sakura continued, now obviously as herself. "I'd read about him, searching the archives for other things. He disappeared for a month, training for his chuunin exam. The time he was gone corresponds with the time Kyuubi was disturbed. He attacked Kyuubi... and he did it as Orochi no Yamato, leading a trail back to Konoha."

"I remember him having... changed, after the chuunin exam," Tsunade mused. "I had no idea, however..."

"Where he promptly hid from view again," Naruto replied. "Likely joining Akatsuki to keep better track of them, and not because he didn't know who he was."

"Then... what do we do, now?" Ayame asked from her alcove. "I mean, why good does knowing this do us, now? He's already our enemy, and we know less about Orochi than we did about Orochimaru himself. It's not like we know of any additional weaknesses this gives him... or does it? Does the Orochi have any weaknesses that we didn't know Orochimaru had?"

Naruto frowned, again himself but apparently still talking with the kyuubi. "No. The Orochi and Kyuubi were fierce rivals, when both roamed free, but niether could beat the other in a fight. The difference between the Orochi and the Kyuubi is that Kyuubi's power replenished itself almost as quickly as he could use it, while the Orochi's power would only regenerate very slowly. Otherwise, they were equals."

"The first thing to do," Tsunade said, "Is to get rid of the riff raff." With a quick move, she hit a point on Akadou's chest with a chakra scalpel. Akadou blinked for a moment before realizing that his heart wasn't working any more, and his eye started to cloud over. Within seconds, he had passed out. Within a minute, he was dead. "By the time we're done with this meeting, our ANBU will have killed or exiled the entire Akadou clan. As far as him... Homura-dono, be sure someone gets rid of that."

"Er, of course, Hokage-sama."

"Now, obviously we haven't finished our investigation," Tsunade continued. "But in the meantime, I ask you all to alert your clans about this Rock ninja. We will be in touch. Dismissed."

"Without objection, this session of the Konoha Clan Council is at an end," Homura announced. "And thank the gods that's over."

People started filing out, some a bit disturbed by having to pass near Akadou's body and others just relieved things were over. Sakura and Jiraiya walked over to Naruto, who was staring down at the dead body of Akadou while everyone else left. "Geez," Naruto said. "You didn't have to kill him."

Tsunade glanced at him, surprised. "With few exceptions, we don't normally spare traitors, Naruto. I figured you knew that by now."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto said. "I don't think the Akadou were ever truly a 'loyal' clan, there never was any great tragedy or outside influence confusing their thoughts, and they deserved to be killed or exiled. But still..."

"Still?"

"He seemed to know a lot," Naruto pointed out. "Shouldn't we have tried to capture and question him?"

"Normally, yes. But you can't interrogate an Akadou," Tsunade explained. "You can't even touch them without them draining you of your chakra, and they can sometimes pull that chakra drain stuff through mental contact, so asking a Yamanaka to try and enter their mind would be worse than useless. Plus... I detected no insanity in him, despite his odd laughter. He was trying to feign insanity when he was discovered, and he did a reasonable job of it... which means he'd prepared for this. He probably was hoping we would capture and try to interrogate him, and had plans ready for such an eventuality."

Naruto continued staring at the dead body. "I thought I was ready for this job... but it sounds like I have a lot to learn. I never knew anything like that about the Akadou. It sounds like I'll have to learn more about what all the clan techniques can really do. I knew that he could drain chakra, but not that he could do it even without being touched."

"We'll help you, husband," Sakura said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "That'll be my job, from now on -- to help you learn the things you need to learn."

* * *

Author's notes: This is the shortest chapter in a while, but it does fit in my 'range' in terms of word count, so please don't give me a hundred posts about how short this chapter is.

In case you don't recognize the names 'Akadou' and 'Tsurugi' (or Tsurugu -- I've seen it spelled both ways, and I'm not sure which way is correct. I'm sticking with Tsurugi, simply because I've gone this far with his name, I might as well keep going with it) those were the family names of Kabuto's teammates during the Chuunin exam. I also understand at least one of them appeared in some filler episodes of the anime, but as I haven't seen those episodes I'm not sure about it. At any rate, the filler anime is -- for the most part -- not canon in this fic, and niether Akadou Yoroi (the Akadou in the chuunin exam) or Tsurugi Misumi (the Tsurugi) make an appearance; however, their clans share their bloodline traits, and those traits make them perfect for the story I have set up here. By the way... speaking of that, is there any source (even the data books, which I usually frown upon) which mention who was Kabuto's jounin sensei on his Konoha team? He'd be a very interesting guy to look up...

Next Chapter: Tenten's reinforcements join Lee's company to begin the expanded investigation. As the aftermath from the expulsion of the Akadou clan is dealt with in Konoha, the Hyuuga matriarch confronts her Rock mercenary.


End file.
